A Taste of Life
by Forkgawddess
Summary: Greenlee gets a taste of how relationships work in reality, both with men and with her family.
1. Chapter 1

Greenlee was, for the most part, a very loving girl. She had a temper, which often made it seem otherwise, but despite her tempermental behavior, she tended to be very loving. She came from an extremely wealthy family, one which she was certian fate didn't mean to put her in. She couldn't help but blame it on Fate's error, because she always felt so out of place when around her relatives. She was different; not like them. Her parents made it a point to spoil her, which she accounted as "one of the many curses of being an only child."  
  
You would think a person would like to be in such a wealthy, princess-like situation, but Greenlee did not. She despised her parents and loathed the way they raised her.  
  
  
  
Greenlee had been in her fair share of relationships, all ending in heart break. Some guys wanted her for sex, others for her money, but none seemed to be interested in her, to just like her for who she was. Once she thought she found it, she thought she found true love. He was the perfect guy: handsome, charming, sweet, compassionate, loving. Everything she wanted. Greenlee was fooled into thinking that he really did love her, and she knew she loved him, so when he proposed, of course she said yes. And then came that night, the night Greenlee remembered so well...  
  
She and her fiancee were sitting down to a fancy dinner in her living room, which was entirely lit by candles. Greenlee had spent an entire week planning the evening. It was a special night. It was the night that marked the one year anniversary of their meeting. After they had eaten, laughed and talked, they fell into a sudden silence, staring into each other's eyes.  
  
"Ask me anything," he said. "Anything at all."  
  
"Okay," Greenlee said with a grin. "Have you ever met anyone like me before?"  
  
"Never," he smiled.  
  
She giggled. "Do you think I'm beautiful?"  
  
He leaned in and kissed her nose. "Of course."  
  
Her eyes lit up. "Would you do anything for me?"  
  
"Anything."  
  
She took a deep breath, "Do you love me?"  
  
He paused, staring at her. She sat on the edge of her seat, eagerly awaiting the reply. And suddenly, he looked away.  
  
That was when Greenlee gave up on love.   
  
One year later, she was beginning to feel lonely. She wanted to settle down with a guy, the perfect guy, who had the most wonderful family. They would go to family get-together's packing along their kids, and they'd give the family hugs and kisses because it's been so long since the last time, and oh how the little one's have grown. He would take her coat and hang it up for her, and she would bake him cookies. She wanted a comfortable life, with solid memories and open futures.  
  
For the time being, however, Greenlee was working her new desk job at the Pine Valley Times as a news columnist, single as possible. She wished she had a boyfriend or, preferably, a husband, but she knew she couldn't rush a thing like that, and so waited in eager anticipation for the day when fate would bump her into her soul mate.  
  
  
  
Until then, she was working her desk job. Flickering on her computer minitor was half an article, and clutched in the palm of her hand was half a mug of coffee. She spun the cup around, the now cold coffee swishing in a spiral. She set the mug down, sighed deeply, and pushed her hair back behind her ears. Reading over the half-written article on her screen, she began to tap her finger nails on the desk. In her opinion, the article was finished. There was nothing more to add. She knew, though, that if she left it as it was, then her boss would surely get on her case for writing yet another short article. She could already hear his deep, raspy voice: "It needs more detail!" He would shout, tossing the paper into the air.  
  
Greenlee's eyes began to wonder around her office. A framed picture of her dog, Happy, was sitting on a shelf, with a ballet trophy from when she was little beside it. Then her eyes fell upon a sticky post-it note. STAY FOCUSED, it said. Greenlee smirked at herself. "Focus. Yeah, right."  
  
She spun her chair around in a circle and stopped in front of the monitor, attempting, once again, to focus on the task at hand.  
  
"More detail.." she muttered. With a glance at her clock, she realized how late it was, and that she had been officially off work ten minutes ago. She saved her article, shut down the computer, and stood up stretching her arms.  
  
"Another day, another dollar." She grinned.  
  
Gathering up her coat, hat, gloves and scarf, she bundled up and locked her office door behind her.  
  
"See you tomorrow Greenlee," an employee said with a smile.  
  
"See you." Greenlee smiled.  
  
She headed outside into the cold, the wind whipping her hair about in a frenzy.  
  
"I don't know what's worse," she said to herself. "Walking home in the freezing cold, or working on boring articles in a cozy office."  
  
She pulled her coat around herself tightly, clutching her briefcase in her hand.  
  
"Naturally, the cozy office sounds better," she thought, "but if your going home to a warm fire and a mug of hot chocolate, the freezing walk might not seem so bad."  
  
She suddenly laughed at herself, realizing she was debating nothing with no-one.  
  
When she finally arrived home, she entered her little apartment, her nose and cheeks a cherry red. The first thing she did was hurry to the kitchen and fill her copper kettle with water from the sink, then she set it onto a hot burner. After taking off all her winter clothes (and throwing them all about the floor) she opened her closet door to find where she had stuffed the christmas decorations. As she rummaged, her eyes fell upon an old shoe box. She turned away from the box quickly, and started rummaging on the other side of the closet... but she stopped. She turned back to the shoe box. With a deep sigh, she lifted it from the shelf.  
  
"Why do I keep doing this to myself?" She asked herself as she pulled the box down. Slowly she pulled the lid off, but she stopped when the kettle began to whistle. After making herself a cup of cocoa, she hurried back to the living room. She switched on her automatic fireplace (thinking all the while how nice it would be to have a strong husband to carry in fire wood and start a REAL fire), then she wrapped herself up in a blanket and set her mug of cocoa next to the box. She sat down Indian style in front of the box, then slowly lifted the lid.   
  
Photographs, postcards, letters, old movie tickets, some scrunched up tissues and other little trinkets filled the box to the very top.  
  
There were two things Greenlee had never admitted to anyone: 1) the fact that she had that box, and 2) the way she never stops thinking about him.  
  
He seemed to haunt her, to consume her. She had been young and in love, and even though it'd been a whole year, she still dwelt on it. She still thought about all the candle lit dinners, all the nights they spent together, all their conversations. She couldn't seem to let it go. She'd never trusted or been so intimate with anyone before. In a way, when he left, he took with him her innocence. He took with him something she wished he didn't have.  
  
Her hands dug deeply into the box, reaching all the way to the bottom. She pulling out an old book. When she opened it, she brushed her fingers over the first page.  
  
"Today I met the most wonderful man."  
  
Pushing tears away, she flipped to nearly the back of the book. After pulling an old pen out of the box, she began to write on the last few pages.  
  
"I am finally realizing that you are everywhere, and I'm just going to have to get used to it."  
  
Tears swelled in her eyes.  
  
  
  
"I can't escape you. I don't even know why I try, but I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep pushing you away, and one day I'll rid my mind of these thoughts of you. I'm bound and determined to not let you influence my life any longer. I'm throwing everything away, and I'm starting fresh. I'll find a new man, one who really loves me, and in 5 years from now, when we happen to pass each other in the street, you'll be a raggedy old bum with a bottle of liquor, and I'll be walking hand in hand with my husband."  
  
She closed the book, buried it back inside the box, and, through tear-filled eyes, put it back up on the shelf in her closet. Sighing deeply, she sat down again on the floor. She picked up her mug and stared into the depths of her hot chocolate. Why was she clinging onto this man for so long? She was afraid. She was afraid she would never find love like that again. She just wanted a happy storybook life, but her dreams had all been shattered. How could she be certain she would find such blissful love again? Sometimes, even though it was all false, she wished she could have it back, because even if in the long run it meant nothing... at least she had been happy.  
  
With a lonely sort of feeling, she dumped her hot chocolate down the drain, turned out the lights, and crawled into bed. 


	2. Chapter 2

- chapter 2 -  
  
"This is food?"  
  
Greenlee stared down at the messy glob of mush the waitress had put down in front of her. The waitress, whose name was Flo, smirked before walking away.  
  
"Trust me Greenlee, this stuff is the BEST." Samantha said with a re-assuring smile.  
  
Greenlee smiled weakly, "Okay."  
  
She was sitting in a little cafe with her old friend, Samantha. Samantha had called her up out of the blue asking her out to lunch.  
  
Greenlee bit her lip, studying the strange platter before her, then she decided to change the subject.  
  
"It's been so long Sammy, how have you been?"  
  
Samantha reached across the table and grabbed a hold of Greenlee's hand.  
  
"Okay," she said, "I can't hold it in any longer."  
  
Greenlee felt Samantha lightly squeeze her hand.  
  
"I'm pregnant!"  
  
"Oh my God! Samantha!!"  
  
Greenlee jumped up from her chair and wrapped her arms around her friend.  
  
"I am so happy for you!"  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
"Is that an engagement ring?!"  
  
Samantha held up her hand, "Yes! He proposed last weekend!"  
  
"It's beautiful!"  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
"This is so exciting! When's the big day?"  
  
Greenlee and Samantha discussed the wedding, the baby, and Sam's new fiancé deep into the evening. They ordered coffee, and sat chit-chatting for hours. Finally, around 7:00, Greenlee was able to get away. Not that she didn't enjoy talking to Sam, and not that she wasn't completely excited for her, but it was getting late, and Greenlee was ready to go home.  
  
"Want a ride?" Samantha asked as she tossed her purse into the backseat.  
  
"No, I'm good thanks." Greenlee smiled.  
  
"Are you sure? It's awfully cold."  
  
"I'm fine, really. I enjoy walking."  
  
"Alright...well, it was great seeing you again. I'll call you, okay?"  
  
"Okay, but don't take so long this time!"  
  
Samantha laughed, "I won't, I promise."  
  
Greenlee waved as her friend drove away.  
  
When Greenlee was home again, she walked into her apartment and sighed, dropping her purse.  
  
"Look at this place," she said annoyed, "it's such a dump."  
  
It was mostly just dirty clothes scattered everywhere, but there was also clutters of papers all over her counter, table and computer desk.  
  
She made her way to the kitchen, picking up clothes as she went, when she noticed there were new messages on her answering machine. She pushed the flashing button, tossed the clothes into a basket, then opened her fridge and pulled out some old Chinese take out. A voice came from the answering machine.  
  
"Greenlee, it's James. Call me."  
  
Greenlee smirked, James always did get right to the point.  
  
"GREENLEE!" came another voice as the next message played, "Why haven't you called me?!"  
  
Greenlee was so surprised to hear her mother's voice that she dropped her box of Chinese food. She quickly shut the machine off; the last thing she wanted to hear right now was her mother bitch at her.  
  
"Old hag," she said with a glare at the answering machine. "Now where's that damn phone?"  
  
She searched through the clothes, through the clutters of paper, and even through the trash, but she couldn't find it.  
  
"Ah!" She said suddenly asshe ran back to the fridge and pulled open the crisper, and, sure enough, the phone was sitting beside a head of lettuce.  
  
"I don't know how it got there, or how I knew it was there," She said, "but I found it and that's all that's important."  
  
She kicked the refrigerator door shut as she dialed James' number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey Jimmy, it's Greenlee."  
  
"Greens! I haven't heard from you in awhile, I was just calling to see what my favorite cousin has been up to lately."  
  
"Oh, the usual, I've been really busy with work."  
  
"Aren't you working with the Pine Valley Times now?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Ooo, fancy," He joked.  
  
She laughed, "Actually, I'm working on a really important article right now. It should be on the first or second page of next weeks paper."  
  
"That is nice," he admitted, "aunt Mary should be proud."  
  
Greenlee cringed at her mother's name.  
  
"She doesn't know, I haven't talked to her for a couple of weeks."  
  
"Yeah, I know," he said, "she's been bugging me like crazy about it."  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"Yeah, she's about ready to come down there and see you."  
  
"You're joking?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Oh my God, I better call her. Speaking with her on the phone isn't half as bad as actually seeing her in person."  
  
"You're coming to the family Christmas party this year, aren't you?"  
  
"You think my mom would actually let me not go?"  
  
"Well, no, but you weren't there last year."  
  
"Yeah," she said in hardly a whisper, "I faked sick so I could stay here, with..." her voice trailed off.  
  
"That's right," James said, but before he could say anything more, Greenlee changed the subject.  
  
"Do you remember my friend Samantha?"  
  
"Of course! I went out with her our Senior year of high school."  
  
"Yeah, that's the girl. Well, she's engaged!"  
  
"Really? That's great news!"  
  
"Isn't it?"  
  
"Well hey, it was great to hear your voice Greens, but the kids are waiting for their dinner and I promised Susie I'd have them in bed before she got home, so I'd better go."  
  
Greenlee laughed, "Alright Jimmy, I'll see you in just a couple of days."  
  
"Bye Greens, take care."  
  
Greenlee hung up the phone with a smile on her face. Jimmy always made her feel better. Greenlee couldn't imagine what she would have done without him. He was always there for her, especially when she was having a rough time with her parents, and he encouraged her in ways Greenlee couldn't explain. She was very grateful that they had gone to high school and college together. Part of her was jealous though, he was able to find that one special girl, get married, and have four of the most beautiful kids.  
  
With a sigh, she turned the phone back on, dialing her parents number slowly. She bit her lip as she waited for someone to pick up.  
  
"This is the Smyth residence, how may I help you?"  
  
"Hey Patty, this is Greenlee. May I please speak with my mother?"  
  
"Right away, Miss Smyth."  
  
A moment later she heard her mother's voice.  
  
"Greenlee! I'm so glad you called, darling."  
  
"Hello mother, how are you?"  
  
"I'm fine dear, thank you." She said.  
  
"You called earlier?"  
  
"Yes, I wanted to make sure you were coming to the Christmas party?"  
  
"I'm planning on it." Greenlee said.  
  
"Wonderful. Should we expect you on the 19th?"  
  
"The 19th? That's six days before Christmas, mom."  
  
"Darling, the festivities start on the 19th."  
  
Greenlee sighed. Christmas was always a big deal at the Smyth Mansion. The entire family would gather, along with friends, and they'd all spend ten days together. On Christmas Eve night there would be a masquerade dance in the palace hall that lasts until midnight. Then the next morning the gift exchanging takes place, which goes on deep into evening, followed by a big dinner with more food then two hundred guests can eat. This was what Greenlee did for Christmas all twenty-one years of her life (minus last year) and she always hated it. She loved Jimmy and a few other cousins, they always had a blast together, but her mother was so fixed on Greenlee settling down and getting married that she went well out of her way to set her up with some rich young man, and Greenlee ended up spending the entire six days with this man, who was usually the most boring and stuck-up creature she'd ever had the displeasure to meet.  
  
"You know, the Crandlemire's are coming this year," Greenlee's mother said, trying to act casual.  
  
"Oh, are they?"  
  
"Yes, and they're son is just your age, did you know that?"  
  
"I had no idea."  
  
"He went to a very nice private high school, followed by six years at Oxford Law."  
  
"Wow. Good for him." Greenlee sighed. So, she gets to spend six days with some stuck-up, boring Crandlemire. How exciting.  
  
"Another family will be joining us for the first time this year, too."  
  
"Who's that?" Greenlee asked, completely uninterested.  
  
"The Du`Pres."  
  
"Let me guess, they have a son too?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, they do."  
  
"And he went to.. what? Harvard?"  
  
"No, actually, I'm not sure what college he went to, but I'm terribly fond of his mother and I can't imagine he isn't just as darling as her."  
  
"Well mom, I guess I'll see you on the 19th, hmm?" Greenlee was very eager to end this conversation.  
  
"Yes, yes. I've already booked the flight and everything, your ticket and flight information should arrive in the mail within the next couple of days."  
  
Greenlee rolled her eyes, "Great. Thanks mom." She hung up the phone with a frustrated sort of sigh and glanced at her calendar.  
  
"THE 16TH?" She screamed. "Three days!"  
  
Getting time off work would be no problem, oh no, she just was hoping she wouldn't have to see her mother for another few weeks. But three days? Greenlee quickly set to work. She put on an old pair of jeans, an old blouse, and put a bandana on her head. She cleaned all evening and all night long; clearing away the clutter, washing and folding and putting away the clothes, dusting, vacuuming, she did the whole works. Around 3:00 in the morning she looked around with a satisfied smile.  
  
The next day she received her plane ticket in the mail, told her boss she would be gone for the holidays starting tomorrow (which he didn't exactly take very well), and finished packing up her things. She was ready to go. 


	3. Chapter 3

-chapter 3-  
  
Greenlee was jolted awake suddenly; the airplane had landed on the ground. She stretched her arms up in the air; her neck hurting a little from the position she had been sleeping in. The captains voice came over the intercom: "Thank you for choosing United Airlines. Welcome to New York and Happy Holidays!"  
  
Greenlee unbuckled her seatbelt, put her backpack on her shoulders, and got her one suitcase out from the storage bin above her seat.  
  
She hurried quickly down the walkway, instantly recognizing Charlie, standing stiffly with his hands folded in the terminal.  
  
"Charlie!" She shrieked as she ran up and wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"It's nice to see you again, Miss Greenlee." He smiled. Even though he didn't seem too excited to see her, she knew he really was. That was just about as excited as Charlie ever got.  
  
"Mom didn't say you'd be coming to pick me up."  
  
"No?"  
  
He took her suitcase from her and they walked together to a limo parked outside the airport. He opened the door for her and she climbed in, memories from her childhood flooding back to her.  
  
"This is all too familiar..." she murmured as they pulled out.  
  
"What's that, Miss?"  
  
"I said this is all too familiar. Just like when I was little."  
  
"Is that bad, Miss?"  
  
She smiled, "No, of course not."  
  
Of course it was bad! She hated remembering her past. She hated having a body guard in grade-school, she hated having everything she wanted all the time, she hated being sheltered and being forced to go to fancy dinners and banquets, and she especially hated Christmas time!  
  
"Charlie, what are you doing still working for my parents?" Greenlee asked suddenly.  
  
"I've been with your family for a long time, it's hard to leave."  
  
Greenlee nodded, it would be strange without Charlie around.  
  
"Besides, they pay me too well to just quit." He winked. Greenlee grinned.  
  
"So I assume Rosie is still there? And I know Patty is."  
  
"Yes, and Harry too."  
  
"Oh Harry! He always made the lawn look so lovely.. and the decorations he puts up at Christmas always look so beautiful!"  
  
"Yes. . .You've been gone too long, Miss Greenlee, we've all missed you."  
  
"I know," she said, "I missed you all too."  
  
She felt a little guilty, she was actually happier then she'd ever been now that she was as far away from them as she could be.  
  
  
  
They finally pulled up to the Mansion. It looked amazing. The entire five-story house was decorated with beautiful shimmering white lights. There were long wreaths laced around the entrance way, and in the middle of the big wrap-around driveway was a gigantic Christmas tree, as tall as the house itself. Everything was covered in a silky blanket of fresh snow.  
  
Greenlee gasped, "It's amazing! Even more beautiful then I remembered."  
  
Charlie glanced in the rear-view mirror, "Welcome home, Greenlee."  
  
Greenlee swallowed hard as she opened the car door. Mary, her mother, came rushing out the front door of the house, her arms were stretched out to Greenlee.  
  
"It's so wonderful to have you home again!" She wrapped her arms around Greenlee in a big hug. Greenlee stood stiffly for a moment, then pulled away.  
  
"It's nice to be back." She said faking a smile.  
  
"Come inside, come on! Most of your cousin's have arrived already. Grandma and Grandpa are already here of course, they have been since the 11th. We also have some guests with us already... I can tell this is going to be a very special Christmas."  
  
Greenlee studied her mother. There was something about her that was different, she was being friendly, and she actually sounded happy. Greenlee wondered if something was wrong.  
  
"Are you alright, mom?"  
  
"Of course, I'm fine... why?"  
  
"No, never mind." Greenlee smiled, "Let's go inside." 


	4. Chapter 4

-chapter 4-  
  
As soon as Greenlee was through the big door, family members began to swarm around her in the large entranceway.  
  
"Greenlee!"  
  
"Jimmy!"  
  
"How was the trip?"  
  
"Fine, yours?"  
  
"About as fine as it can get with four kids and a pregnant wife." He smiled. Greenlee laughed.  
  
"Where are the kids?"  
  
"Oh, they're around... running about with all their cousins, probably getting into trouble."  
  
Greenlee was suddenly grabbed by her shoulders and whirled around.  
  
"It's been too long, Greenlee!"  
  
"Annie!" She shrieked giving her cousin a warm hug.  
  
"What are you doing with yourself these days?"  
  
"I just got accepted into Medical School!" Annie said.  
  
"Are you serious? Why didn't anyone tell me?"  
  
A stern, old voice that Greenlee knew all too well came from behind her: "Because you distance yourself from the family too much."  
  
Greenlee turned around, her Grandmother was sitting in a wheelchair.  
  
"Grandma." She smiled. She bent down and gave the old woman a hug.  
  
"It's been far too long, Greenlee."  
  
*Her voice is even harsher then I remember...* Greenlee thought.  
  
"I know Grandma. I'm sorry."  
  
"Well you damn well should be."  
  
And with that, Grandma wheeled herself out of the room. Greenlee looked up at Jimmy; he shrugged, spinning his finger around in a circle by his head. Greenlee smiled, shaking her head a little. She picked up her luggage and started awkwardly up the large flight of stairs. When she reached the top, she turned to the right and walked down a long hallway that had several doors along it. She continued to the end of the hallway, turned left, and began walking down another long hallway. At the end was a flight of stairs that wrapped up to the third floor, which was where all the bedrooms were. Greenlee knew exactly which one was hers. She walked about halfway down yet another hallway and opened up the door to her room. It felt stuffy inside, like nobody had opened the windows or doors since she left. She flicked the light on; everything was exactly how she had left it. Her big canopy bed was perfectly made with the same dull pink sheets, her same fluffy white curtains were hanging down from the large window that over-looked the backyard, and the same old furniture she used as a girl was sitting in all the same spots, covered in thick layers of dust. She walked around the room; streaking her fingers across her desk as hints of the fine wood appeared beneath the dust, and her high heels left marks in the carpet because it was so stiff. She looked out the window, snow was covering everything. That was one thing she did miss, the snow. It never snowed in Pine Valley.  
  
Suddenly, Greenlee heard a soft tapping behind her and turned around quickly to see a young maid standing in the doorway.  
  
"Excuse me, Miss, your mother sent me up to tell you dinner is in an hour."  
  
Greenlee nodded. She felt like a little girl again, being warned an hour before dinner. She smiled to herself, remembering how she used to need that entire hour to get ready. When she was little, her parents were always having important guests over for dinner, and Greenlee always had to dress up in elegant dresses, and someone would do her hair up in some fancy way that Greenlee didn't like.  
  
"Thanks." She said to the maid. The maid made a small bow, then walked away.  
  
"What, am I royalty?" Greenlee rolled her eyes. The things her parents made the staff do, it was ridiculous.  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Greenlee had put on a nice but simple dress, touched up her makeup, put her hair up, and now she was on her way down the large flight of stairs.  
  
"Hey Greens! Wait up!" A voice called from behind her.  
  
"Hey, Josh." Greenlee smiled as one of her cousins came up behind her.  
  
"Well, would you look at little Greenlee Smyth." He said as he looked at her. "You look great."  
  
"So do you," She said. "all grown up."  
  
"Did you hear the news?" He asked.  
  
Greenlee bit her lip. Did she want to hear the news? Josh was born on the same day as her, and ever since pre-school they had competed for the best grades, and they bet on who would be most successful when they were older. Greenlee had put that all behind her now, it was just a silly thing she did as a child, but Josh always seemed to bring it up; just because he did get better grades all the time, and now he was a semi-world famous surgeon.  
  
"I was on the cover of Time magazine!" He said with the excitement of a child.  
  
Greenlee rolled her eyes. Great, another thing to rub in her face.  
  
"Really? Time Magazine?"  
  
"Yep, an entire five page article about me. Lots of pictures too, of me in my surgeon outfit, some of me at home with my girlfriend."  
  
"Who are you dating these days?" Greenlee asked as they continued walking towards the dining room.  
  
"Oh, a really sweet girl. Her name is Angela, she'll be coming for the masquerade dance."  
  
"Can't wait to meet her." Greenlee smiled.  
  
"Hey Greens, remember when we went to the masquerade together that one year?"  
  
Greenlee laughed, "Yeah, I remember. We were thirteen and both our dates turned us down."  
  
Josh laughed too, "Jimmy made fun of us for an entire year. What did we dress up as again?"  
  
"I was a princess and you were a frog," She said.  
  
"That's right!" He smirked, "Where did we get a stupid idea like that anyway?"   
  
"It wasn't so bad." Greenlee said, she loved that princess costume.  
  
"Say, who's your date this year?" Josh asked.  
  
"Nobody." she said quickly.  
  
"Nobody? You mean you still can't get a date, after all these years?" He joked. Greenlee knew he was only joking, but it hurt to hear him say that.  
  
". . .yet. Nobody yet." She smiled.  
  
They entered the dining room. A large table was in the middle, big enough to fit two-hundred and fifteen people around. Of course, there weren't two-hundred and fifteen people there, so the family was all gathered at the far end of the table, with Grandma and Grandpa sitting at the head. Greenlee's parents were on one side of them, and some of Greenlee's uncle's were on the other side with their wives. Greenlee took a seat by Annie, which was across from Jimmy. Josh sat on the other side of her.  
  
"Susie, hello!" Greenlee said sitting down. Jimmy's wife, who was pregnant and had a baby in her lap, looked up.  
  
"Greenlee! How are you?"  
  
"Just fine, thanks. Looks like you've got your hands full, huh?"  
  
Susie laughed, "Yeah, just a little."  
  
"Where are the twins?" Greenlee asked, not seeing the two oldest children.  
  
"Are you kidding?" Jimmy said, "They're eating in the kitchen, I don't dare bring them in here."  
  
"Well don't tell that to Grandma," Greenlee warned, "She'll probably tell you you're raising them wrong."  
  
Susie's expression suddenly turned angry, "She already did."  
  
"Oh,"  
  
Greenlee looked up the table at her Grandma, she was sitting with a scowl on her face as usual. Greenlee turned her attention to her mother, who still looked unusually happy. Greenlee couldn't help but think that something was wrong.  
  
Dinner lasted for two hours. They had all kinds of food: mashed potatoes, a roasted lamb, fresh vegetables, home-made cheese bread with rich butter, a garden salad, macaroni salad, and other things Greenlee didn't even get around to trying.  
  
After they had all been excused, Greenlee went straight upstairs to her father's big study, where he and her Grandpa were having cigars.  
  
"Hi daddy, Grandpa," She said as she walked in.  
  
"Greenlee! Well it's about time you said hello to me." Her father got up from his chair and kissed her cheek.  
  
"Your trip went well, I hope?"  
  
"It was fine." Greenlee said. She hugged her grandfather, then sat down in a big chair beside them.  
  
"So what are you two old men doing?" She smiled.  
  
"Just discussing the family," Her father said.  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"Well, we were just saying how you've all grown up so fast, and we're already into our 4th generation."  
  
"Yeah," Greenlee nodded, "It's pretty amazing how the family has grown."  
  
She looked down at her hands, popping her knuckles.  
  
"Daddy," She said, "is there something wrong with mom?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"I don't know, she seems different."  
  
"How so?"  
  
Greenlee bit her lip, she didn't want to outwardly say that her mom finally had a smile on her face for the first time in twenty years, and that she was actually pleasant to be around for a change.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. She just is."  
  
"Greenlee darling, it's wonderful to see you, but do you suppose your Grandfather and I could have a word alone?"  
  
Greenlee sat blinking for a second, "Oh, okay daddy..." She got up from her chair and left the study, quietly shutting the door behind her. Same old dad. When Greenlee was little, she was daddy's girl. Always sitting on his lap, fetching his pipe and slippers. But when she turned seventeen he began to distance himself from not just her, but his wife too. Greenlee never did find out why, but he's always been somewhat cold ever since.  
  
When Greenlee returned to her room, it had been completely cleaned. The floor had been vacuumed, the furniture dusted, the curtains washed and the sheets changed. Her suitcase was sitting on her bed. She closed the door behind her, and started to unpack her clothes into her dresser. When she had finished, she pulled out a bag of gummy bears and sat Indian style on her bed, munching on the candy. She sighed, she really didn't want to be here. She wanted more then anything to go back to Pine Valley, to her apartment, to sleep in her bed. She wanted to go to her office and work on her article, she wanted to stop by her favorite little cafe for coffee. She didn't want to be here, because she didn't want this kind of life. She didn't like everyone doing everything for her, she didn't like having everything in the world at her finger-tips.  
  
A knock came suddenly on her door.  
  
"Come in," She called. Josh walked in.  
  
"Hey," She said.  
  
"What are you doing?" He asked, approaching her bed.  
  
"Eating gummy bears. Want one?"  
  
He laughed, "Sure."  
  
She tossed him a yellow one, because those are the one's she likes least, and he took a seat on the end of her bed.  
  
"Do you know the Crandlemire's?" He asked suddenly.  
  
"No, I've never met them."  
  
"Oh, they just got here a few minutes ago."  
  
"Oh great,"  
  
"What?"  
  
"My mom sounded pretty fixed on hooking this Crandlemire guy and I up. . ."  
  
"With who, Andrew?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You'll have to fight for him," Josh grinned.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"It means as soon as he walked in the door, Annie, Amy and Teresa were already all over him."  
  
Greenlee's eyes lit up, "Really? That's great!"  
  
"My sister is so pathetic," Josh shook his head, "She goes through about five boyfriends a month."  
  
Greenlee laughed, "Who would have guessed sweet, modest little Amy would turn out to be like that?"  
  
"I would've. But anyway, want to come meet them?"  
  
"Not really," She said, "I think I'm going to bed soon."  
  
"Come on, it's still early. I think Jimmy and I are going to shoot a game of pool, want to join us?"  
  
"No thanks."  
  
"What's wrong, Greens?"  
  
"Nothing... I was on a plane for nine hours today, I'm trying to adjust to this time change, can't a girl get a little rest?"  
  
"Come on, admit it."  
  
"Admit what?" Greenlee was becoming annoyed.  
  
"Something's up with you, I can tell."  
  
"Nothing's up!"  
  
"Really? Is that why you're being so defensive?"  
  
"I'm not defensive..." she rubbed her head with her hand, "would you just go away already?"  
  
"Alright, alright. . . I wish you'd come meet Andrew though."  
  
"Not you too!" She yelled, throwing gummy bears at him.  
  
He laughed as he stood up, "I seriously think your mom is set on you falling for this guy."  
  
"Is that why she's so happy?" Greenlee asked.  
  
"Maybe. I don't know. I doubt it."  
  
She bit off the head of a gummy bear.  
  
"It better not be." 


	5. Chapter 5

When Greenlee had finished getting ready for bed, she quietly creeped out of her room and all the way down the stairs. She was wearing her rubber duck pajama bottoms with a matching pink tank-top, and her hair was up in a messy bun. As she passed by the billiards room on the second floor, she heard Jimmy's voice and the sound of balls clacking around. She continued down the main stairs onto the first floor and hurried into the kitchen. The lights were off, but the moonlight was bright enough for Greenlee to make her way around. There were two big ovens next to each other, a large sink with a dishwasher, two giant refrigerators, and enough counter-space for at least two or three restaurants. Greenlee went straight to one of the refrigerators and pulled out a carton of milk. She didn't feel like getting a glass out, so she opened up the carton and drank straight from it.  
  
The kitchen was suddenly filled with bright lights; Greenlee quickly glanced at the door, milk dripping from her chin. A man was standing there, someone Greenlee didn't recognize. He looked very handsome, Greenlee thought, standing there with a silly grin on his face.  
  
"Greenlee, right?" He said suddenly.  
  
"Yeah," She nodded, wiping the milk from her face.  
  
"I'm Andrew Crandlemire, your cousins told me a lot about you."  
  
"Did they?"  
  
"Uh-huh," He started walking towards her.  
  
"Did you want something to eat?" She asked.  
  
"Josh said I could help myself."  
  
He stopped in front of her.  
  
"Oh no, I'll get it, what would you like?"  
  
"It's okay, I can get it. It looks like you were getting ready for bed?"  
  
She looked down at her pajamas, "Oh, these? They're just, you know, comfy, I was actually planning on coming to play pool with you guys."  
  
So she lied. If Andrew's personality matched his looks, maybe he wouldn't be so bad after all.  
  
"Want a sandwich or something?" She offered.  
  
"No, no, just something small to hold me over." His lips curled into a charming smile, and he stepped even closer, pushing Greenlee up against the counter. He put his hand on her waist. Feeling a little uncomfortable, she glanced behind herself nervously and noticed a bottle of wine on the counter. She grabbed the bottle and held it up between them.  
  
"A glass of wine?"  
  
"Perfect."  
  
Greenlee inched away from him and made for the cupboards. She opened up one of the higher one's and, standing on her tiptoes, got two wine glasses down. She opened a drawer and pulled out the bottle opener.  
  
"Will you?" She asked, holding the bottle and opener out to him. He took the items, screwed the opener into the cork, and with a loud pop he opened the wine. He poured both glasses half-way full.  
  
"Thanks," She smiled, bringing the glass to her lips.  
  
"So, I hear these Smyth Christmas Party's are pretty amazing?"  
  
"Oh, they're something alright." She laughed.  
  
"My mother said we couldn't have been invited to a lovelier place. I think she's right."  
  
Greenlee looked down at her bare toes. She felt a little cold.  
  
"How did our mother's meet, anyway?" She asked, looking back up at him.  
  
"I'm not sure," he said, "through a club of some sort, I'm sure."  
  
"Probably. My mom thinks it's good for the soul to get involved, funny how things that require real work don't count as involved though."  
  
She sipped her wine.  
  
"I know what you mean," he nodded, "my mom is the same way."  
  
"That doesn't surprise me." She rolled her eyes; to her, all rich people were the same.  
  
"Come again?" He looked confused.  
  
"Never mind. Are you in college?"  
  
"Graduated."  
  
"Oh, that's right. Oxford law, correct?"  
  
"Correct."  
  
"So you're a lawyer then, eh?"  
  
He smiled, "Yes, I'm a lawyer. What about you? Where'd you go to college?"  
  
"U.C.L.A."  
  
"Nice," he nodded, "What did you major in?"  
  
"Nothing, actually. I got my bachelor's in teaching, but quit after that. I work for a newspaper now."  
  
"I'm surprised your parents didn't make you finish."  
  
"I don't let them control my life," She said quickly. "Ready to go back upstairs?"  
  
He set down his wine, which he had hardly touched.  
  
"Sure."  
  
A few minutes later, Greenlee and Andrew walked into the billiard's room together. Greenlee's arm was laced around Andrew's.  
  
"Well, well, well." Jimmy grinned at them, "Look what Andrew found."  
  
"I thought you were too tired to play pool, Greens?" Josh raised an eyebrow, smiling at her.  
  
"Who told you that?" She winked at him, picking up a cue. She slipped it between her fingers and prepared to smack a ball when Josh stopped her.  
  
"Greenlee, sweetie, when's the last time you played pool?"  
  
"Oh I don't know, not since we were teenagers I guess. Why?"  
  
"Because you're holding the cue backwards."  
  
Greenlee blinked, looking at the stick in her hand. She set it down.  
  
"I never cared for the game anyway."  
  
She pulled a stool out from a corner and sat down on it, deciding to watch the boys. After a couple games of pool, some chit-chatting, a few good laughs, and a good night kiss on the cheek from Andrew, Greenlee finally went to bed.  
  
That night she dreamt about Andrew. They were in Italy together, gently cruising across a lake in a fancy boat, enjoying dinner under the moonlight. A beautiful diamond ring was on Greenlee's finger, and she was wearing the most expensive and galmourus dress she could imagine. She stared across the table into his eyes.  
  
"Ask me anything," he said suddenly, "anything at all."  
  
Greenlee bit her lip. She looked out at the lake. This was too familiar, where had she heard that before? She turned back to Andrew, but to her horror, her ex-fiancée had taken his place. He was staring back at her with those same old eyes, those eyes Greenlee remembered so vividly.  
  
"Ask me anything." He said.  
  
Greenlee woke up. Her heart was racing.  
  
Early the next morning, the entire family was crowded around the table for breakfast. Greenlee yawned as she sat down next to her cousins, looking over all the delicious food. There were big plates stacked high with pancakes, waffles, toast, and bacon. There was a big bowl filled with scrambled eggs, and lots of fresh fruit. Greenlee noticed all her girl cousins were sitting on one end of the table, and all the guys were on the other. Andrew was sitting up near the head of table, next to his father, discussing something or other with the men.  
  
"Greenlee!" One of her cousins suddenly sat down next to her. "All the girls and I are going shopping after breakfast, want to come?"  
  
"All the girls?" Greenlee asked, still gazing at Andrew.  
  
"Yeah, Annie, Amy, Jacky, Olivia, Mady, Samara and me."  
  
Greenlee bit her lip and turned to her cousin. That was just about the last thing she wanted to do. Susie walked up just then, she was carrying four little plates.  
  
"What about you, Susie? Are you going shopping with the girls?"  
  
"Oh I can't go," She said, "what would I do with all these kids?"  
  
She put a strawberry onto one of the plates, which caused her oldest son Alex to pitch a fit.  
  
"I don't like strawberries, mommy!"  
  
"You can't just eat waffles, you have to have something healthy."  
  
"No!" He screamed  
  
"ONE strawberry, that's all I ask!"  
  
Teresa tapped Greenlee's shoulder.  
  
"So are you gonna come?"  
  
"Oh. . . no, no I don't think so."  
  
"But it'll be fun! We'll go to all the best places in New York, and afterwards we'll go out for lunch!"  
  
"I've already made plans for today, but thanks for inviting me."  
  
"Come on, Greens!" Amy piped in from across the table, "Remember all those shopping trips we used to take? Spending all our dad's money."  
  
"Yeah, I spend my own money now." Greenlee said, she stood up and turned to Susie.  
  
"Let me help you with that," She took one of the plates.  
  
"What do you want, Becky?"  
  
"Toast!" The three year old squealed. Greenlee put some toast and mixed fruits on the plate, then set it down in front of Becky.  
  
"There you go, sweetie."  
  
She glanced behind her, Teresa and Amy had gone back to their seats.  
  
"Thanks Greenlee," Susie sighed, "normally I wouldn't be so stressed out, but with Grandma and Jim's mother watching my every move, I feel so nervous."  
  
"I know, my cousin Yvonne goes through the same thing. She has two of the wildest little boys, you should hear my Grandma go off on her about how she needs to get them under control." Greenlee said.  
  
"Well at least it's not just me. " Susie rolled her eyes, "You know, I'd really like to set these kids lose in that big maze your father has in the backyard. That'd keep them out of my hair for awhile."  
  
Greenlee laughed, "I think they're planning on letting everyone lose in there tomorrow, they're going to make teams and the first team out wins a prize. Isn't that stupid?"  
  
"It's not stupid if Jim takes all the kids while I take a nap." Susie grinned.  
  
"You'll have to get him away from Josh first," Greenlee glanced at James and Josh, they were sitting next to each other. "Have you noticed how inseparable they've been the passed two days?"  
  
"Mom, I can't cut up my waffle!" Alex whined.  
  
"Yeah," Susie said to Greenlee, taking her sons plate. "It's kind of weird."  
  
She sliced Alex's waffle, then handed his plate back.  
  
"Susie," Greenlee said, "why don't you and I take the kids out today?"  
  
"Are you crazy?" Susie reached over to Michael, rolling up his sleeves that were almost drenched in syrup. "I can't take these kids anywhere!"  
  
"Have you ever been to Dylan's Candy Bar?" Greenlee asked, "The walls are literally made out of chocolate, and you can color your own M&M's any color you want. The kids would absolutely love it, and there's going to be a million other kids there, so they can be as loud or wild as they want. My treat?"  
  
"I wanna go mom!" Alex yelled.  
  
"Me too!" Michael said.  
  
"Me too, mommy!" Becky chimed in.  
  
Susie smiled and shook her head at Greenlee, "Alright. . .sounds like fun." 


	6. Chapter 6

Greenlee, Susie, and the kids didn't return home until late in the evening. They had gone to a Chinese restaurant to eat, so they skipped the nightly family dinner. Susie went to put the kids to bed, while Greenlee decided to go for a walk. She didn't feel like dealing with her family, she just wanted to take a relaxing walk without any worries. She didn't get very far though before she heard a car behind her. She turned around, squinting her eyes.  
  
"Oh man," she muttered with a deep sigh. She stopped, waiting for the car to pull up. It was her mother's limo. The car stopped beside Greenlee and she bent over as the backseat window was rolled down.  
  
"Hello Mother!" Greenlee waved her mitten as her mother's face appeared on the other side of the glass.  
  
"What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your God-damn mind?"  
  
Hey, there's the old mom I know and I love, Greenlee thought.  
  
"Just taking a walk." She said outloud.  
  
"Why? Do you know how cold it is?"  
  
"It's a little chilly, yeah," Greenlee shrugged, "but I like the snow." She dug her boot into the soft, white snow. Mary completely ignored her.  
  
"The Du`Pres arrived just a bit ago. They were so looking forward to seeing you, but I couldn't find you anywhere. Do you know how embarrassing that was?"  
  
"Wow, that must have been absolutely humiliating."  
  
"Are you being sarcastic with me, young lady?"  
  
"No, mom..." Greenlee rolled her eyes.  
  
"And what's this I hear about you avoiding poor Andrew?"  
  
"Avoiding?"  
  
"Yes, his mother said that he said you were avoiding him."  
  
"Mom, Crandlemire's sweet, but not for me."  
  
"I don't God-damn care weather or not you like him; I want to hear wedding-bells within the next year!"  
  
"You want me to marry Andrew Crandlemire?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you out of your God-damn mind, mother?"  
  
Mary sat up straight, she was taken aback by her daughter's straight forwardness.  
  
"That is no way to talk to your moth--"  
  
"Listen, I came to your stupid Christmas party, what more do you want?"  
  
Mary turned away from her daughter, trying not to lose her temper.  
  
"You really don't get it, do you mom?"  
  
"This conversation is over."  
  
"I'm not finished." Greenlee slammed her hand over the window to prevent her mother from rolling it up. Mary looked at her, obviously annoyed.  
  
"What's come over you? Why are you acting like this?"   
  
"The problem isn't me mom. The problem is you. You treat me like shit all through my teenage years, and then I come home for Christmas and you act like there's nothing wrong with the world. I see through that now though, you just wanted to butter up so I'd like Andrew, and now that I don't like him, you're pissed off."  
  
"Greenlee, get in this car right now."  
  
Greenlee clenched her teeth, there was no talking to this woman was there?  
  
"I'll be home in less then an hour, just give me some time."  
  
"I said get in the car, so you better get in the God-damn car."  
  
No reasoning with her either.  
  
"God, fine. I'm sorry I tried to be alone for twenty minutes without having to listen to your stupid shit."  
  
Greenlee stomped through the snow to the other side of the car, swung open the door, and climbed inside.  
  
By the time they had gotten back home, Greenlee was nearly in tears. It looked like this was her fate. Mother wanted her to marry Andrew, so she guessed she had to. What were her other choices? It's not like there was a line of guys waiting to ask her out, or like she was getting any younger. Maybe that was just the fate of all rich girls, maybe they were just supposed to marry whoever their parent's chose. It wouldn't be that bad though, would it? Andrew was successful, rich, handsome... what more could she ask for? Well, maybe a little personality.  
  
After she was back in the mansion, she decided to find Andrew. Out of pure luck, she found him in the first room she checked: the library. The Smyth library was quite a sight to see. It contained every book worth reading placed on wooden shelves a mile long around the walls of the entire room. An oversized stone fireplace gave it an elegant, cozy feel, and the hardwood floors were set off with layers of oriental rugs. Greenlee used to spend hours in this room, drowning herself in her favorite books.  
  
Andrew was over by the law books in the left corner of the room, flipping anxiously through them.  
  
"Amazing, isn't it?" Greenlee said. Andrew turned around quickly, surprised by her voice. He closed the book and tipped his glasses.  
  
"Very," he said, "I've never even heard of some of these law books."  
  
Greenlee suddenly felt compelled to kiss him, he looked extremely desirable. She took a few steps towards him.  
  
"Why'd you become a lawyer?" she asked.  
  
"I've always been interested by the law." Andrew said, "I don't really know why."  
  
She nodded, as if she understood, and walked closer, stopping directly in front of him.  
  
"Why'd you drop out of college?" He asked looking down at her, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear.  
  
"I don't remember," a small smile crept across her lips.  
  
"Don't remember?" He sounded surprised. She elevated herself on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
"Nope. Don't remember." She leaned in and kissed him. He held her waist as he pulled her closer. They were locked in a kiss for several moments, but Greenlee broke it by pulling away. What the hell did I just do! She thought to herself. Here's this guy, Andrew Crandlemire of all people, who is your typical average rich guy, a breed of guy's that Greenlee can't stand, and a guy who she's only known for 2 days, and just because he's a little cute (drop dead gorgeous is a better explination, really) she goes and kisses him.  
  
"Greenlee..." He began, but before he could say anything more they were both startled by a clicking noise behind them. Greenlee whirled around to see a young man, having just walked into the library, standing as surprised as they were.  
  
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He said.  
  
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Greenlee swallowed hard, she felt a little embarrassed.  
  
"Leo, Leo Du`Pres."  
  
Andrew stepped forward, offering his hand.  
  
"Andrew Crandlemire."  
  
Leo shook Andrew's hand, nodding.  
  
"Were you looking for something?" Greenlee asked.  
  
"Not really, I was just exploring the place a bit. It's fuckin' huge."  
  
Greenlee glanced up at Andrew with a smirk, "Yeah, it's pretty amazing." She said.   
  
"Look at all these books," Leo glanced around, "I bet some of them have never been read."  
  
"I doubt it. We can't even reach the ones on the top shelf. My dad thought those library ladders were too cheesy to put one in here."  
  
Leo laughed, "So you basically have no idea what's up there?"  
  
She shook her head, "Not a clue."  
  
"That's insane." He looked up at the top shelves. "Mind if I climb up and take a look?"  
  
Greenlee gave him a skeptical look, "What would you climb on?"  
  
"The shelves?"  
  
"Don't be stupid," Andrew said suddenly, "You'd probably break something."  
  
Greenlee gave Andrew a playful shove, "Don't be so parental," she joked.  
  
"Listen, Greenlee," Andrew turned to her, "I'd like to talk to you."  
  
"Ah, I see I was interrupting... I'll just get on out of here then."  
  
"No, don't go Leo." She had just met the guy, but in less than two minutes he had shown more personality and adventure then Andrew had in two days. And not to mention, she had just kissed Andrew and felt completely awkward about it, so she didn't really want to be alone with him.  
  
"I'll talk to you tomorrow then," Andrew said slightly annoyed. He turned and left the room, leaving Greenlee a little surprised.  
  
"Is that your boyfriend?" Leo asked after he was gone.  
  
"No," she shook her head, "I just met him yesterday."  
  
"Really? You guys looked pretty close."  
  
"Nevermind." She said, "Want some cocoa?"  
  
"Cocoa?"  
  
"Yeah, I was just about to make some hot chocolate for myself."  
  
"I'd love some." He smiled.  
  
"I'll be right back then." She smiled back, then left the library, heading towards the kitchen. She was surprised to see that the lights were still on, surely the kitchen crew had finished cleaning up by now? She walked in to find the entire kitchen torn apart. Every cupboard was open, and everything that was once in the cupboard's was now all over the counter-tops and floor. Greenlee noticed a pair of legs sticking out from one of the shelves below the counter.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" She said. Josh crawled out from the cupboard.  
  
"Greenlee! Where do you keep the tea kettle?" He asked.  
  
"You tore the kitchen apart looking for a damn tea kettle?"  
  
Josh stood up, looking around at the mess, "I guess I did kind of tear it apart, huh?"  
  
Greenlee walked to the stove. Sitting on top was a cloth covering something. She pulled of the cloth to reveal the kettle.  
  
Josh smiled weakly, "So that's where you keep it."  
  
Greenlee sighed and walked to the sink. She filled the kettle up, then put it on the burner.  
  
"I'll help you clean up." She said.  
  
After the kitchen was spotless (and the cocoa was made) Greenlee returned to the library carrying a square tray. On the tray were two mugs of hot chocolate, a creamer full of milk, and a small bowl of marshmallows. When she first walked in, it appeared that there was no-one in the room. Greenlee stood for a minute feeling hurt that Leo would leave, but she finally noticed him hunched over some books behind the couch. She set the tray on the coffee table.  
  
"What are you looking at?" She asked. Leo turned around with a child-like grin on his face.  
  
"The books from the top shelf." Leo said, pointing upwards. Greenlee glanced up to find a chunk of the top shelf empty; a grin crept across her face.  
  
"Did you climb up there?"  
  
"I admit it," He said standing up and climbing over the couch, plopping himself in front of the coffee table, "I climbed up there."  
  
She sat down beside him, picking up her mug.  
  
"So what'd you find?"  
  
"Well," He took a sip of his cocoa before turning to face her, "there was a book on anatomy, a book on evolution, a really old dictionary, a book in Latin, a book on Greek mythology, and that's all I was really able to grab before..."  
  
"What, you fell?"  
  
"Sort of." He held up his arm to reveal a bloody cut on his elbow.  
  
"Oh, Leo! Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, it doesn't even hurt." He smiled, taking another drink of cocoa.  
  
"You know," He said, "this is probably the best hot chocolate I've ever had."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, it's delicious."  
  
"Well thanks, I'm flattered." Greenlee pulled her legs onto the couch, sitting Indian-style.  
  
"Hot chocolate always makes me feel better," she said, "I don't really know why. Whenever something's wrong, I always make hot chocolate."  
  
"What's wrong right now?" Leo asked, he had genuine concern in his voice.  
  
"Oh I don't want to trouble you with my life story," Greenlee sighed, "It's really pretty routine and boring."  
  
"What, your life or your problem?"  
  
"Both, actually."  
  
"Couldn't be all that bad... have you looked around at your house lately?"  
  
Greenlee's eyes widened, "Yeah, I've looked at this house for the past twenty-one years of my life. Trust me, it's not as special as it may seem."  
  
"No?"  
  
"No. It's an old house once owned by a rich New York family in the 1850's. My great-grandfather got a hold of it in 1934, making it his home and passing it on to his son, who in turn passed it on to my father."  
  
"Who in turn will pass it on to you?"  
  
"I don't know. When I was growing up they always told me I couldn't have it, that it was for my brother. There was no brother, of course, it was just wishful thinking on their part. For years they tried to conceive a son, but it never happened. They're stuck with me."  
  
"So then, you should get the house?"  
  
"Should, yes, but it will probably go on to one of my male cousins."  
  
Leo put his cocoa down and rested his chin in his hand thoughtfully.  
  
"That doesn't make any sense. Isn't there any way you can get the house?"  
  
"Oh, sure," Greenlee smirked, "there's a way."  
  
"Which is...?"  
  
"I have to get married, then my dad will pass the house on to my husband."  
  
Leo stared straight into her eyes.  
  
"Is that what was up with that guy earlier?" He asked.  
  
Greenlee sensed a certain sort of seriousness come over him.  
  
"You mean Andrew?"  
  
"I mean the one I found you kissing."  
  
Leo sure was blunt, Greenlee thought.  
  
"I'm not blind, I can tell you don't love him," he continued. "Maybe you're attracted to him a little, but that's as far as it goes."  
  
"You're right, I don't love him." She admitted.  
  
"So why were you kissing him?"  
  
Greenlee was at a loss. She honestly didn't know why.  
  
After an awkward silence of staring down into her cocoa, she finally spoke again.  
  
"I'm not really sure."  
  
"You want the house and the money, don't you? Is that why you're trying to make yourself fall in love with him?"  
  
"No!" Greenlee shouted quickly, becoming defensive.  
  
"I. . .I'm not like that. . ."  
  
Greenlee put her mug of hot chocolate back onto the tray and stood up. She felt a little uncomfortable in this conversation. After bidding Leo goodnight, she hurried out of the room and hurried upstairs to her room.  
  
Now Greenlee felt horrible. She felt just like all her cousins, just like all her aunts and uncles, just like boring stuck-up Crandlemire, and horrifically, she felt just like her mother. Thanks to Leo, Greenlee realized what she was doing. Mary knew that the house would go to Greenlee's oldest cousin unless it was given to Greenlee, and the only way it could be given to Greenlee is if she got married. Of course, they wouldn't want some bum (like her ex-fiancée) to just march in and inherit the house, so Mary thought if she got the Crandlemire's involved, at least the house would be passed on to another rich and snobby family.  
  
Greenlee fell for it too. She had eventually givin in to her mother and was going full force for Andrew. Thank God for Leo. 


	7. Chapter 7

When Greenlee went back outside, she found a bustle of Smyth's chatting and laughing. The women were sipping white wine, and the men had some clear alcoholic drink. Greenlee shifted through the crowd, constantly looking for Andrew. She was able to find Amy, but Andrew was no where in sight.  
  
"Ah, there he is," She said finally spotting him. His back was turned towards her. She walked up and tapped his shoulder, but when they were face-to-face Greenlee realized it wasn't Andrew, but his younger brother Kyle.  
  
"Yes?" He said  
  
Greenlee smiled and said, "Have you seen your brother?"  
  
"Why, yes of course." Kyle pointed towards a small group of people a short distance off, and sure enough, Andrew was standing among them holding a drink and wearing his crooked smile.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
As she walked towards the group, she was stopped suddenly by a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Hello, Greenlee,"  
  
"Aunt Maria, how wonderful to see you."  
  
Greenlee was cringing inside. Maria was Jimmy's mother, but Jimmy and his mom were complete opposites, much like Greenlee and her own mother.  
  
Aunt Maria entered the family by marrying Greenlee's uncle David, the third Smyth son. David and Maria were the parents to three of the Smyth grandchildren. Each group of generation had a name. There was Millicent and Woodrow, Greenlee's grandparents, at the head, followed by the Smyth children, which were Millicent and Woodrow's five kids and their spouses. The Smyth children were responsible for the Smyth grandchildren, their offspring, who were in turn responsible for the Smyth great-grandchildren.  
  
The Smyth son's consisted of Greenlee's father Robert, who was the oldest, and his three brothers: Michael, David and Sean. They had one sister, Greenlee's Aunt Kelly, who was known as "the rose amongst the thorns."  
  
All the Smyth children were married and had kids of their own. Only four of the Smyth grandchildren had kids, which was Jimmy, his younger sister Jacky, and Kelly's daughters Yvonne and Teresa. The rest of the grandchildren, (which numbered eight including Greenlee) weren't married or even enagaged. Bets for the next marriage were mostly on Josh, but some said Amy. Despite the large family, Greenlee had no trouble at all remembering who was who, who belonged to who, and most importantly, who she should avoid. Aunt Maria was someone to avoid.  
  
"Have you seen my Grandchildren running around anywhere?"  
  
"I think they might be in the maze," Greenlee guessed.  
  
"Oh, yes, you're probably right." She looked disappointed.  
  
"Well have you seen James then?"  
  
"Nope, haven't seen James."  
  
Greenlee was getting good at this lying stuff.  
  
"Oh," Maria said, "how about your mother, seen her around?"  
  
"No. I could care less where she is."  
  
Maria raised both her eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"Oh, look," she said, her face brightening suddenly, "here comes mother."  
  
Greenlee turned around; her grandmother was wheeling herself outside. Her dog, Chops, was in her lap.  
  
Maria quickly left Greenlee and went to the side of the wheelchair attempting to strike up conversation with the old woman, but Millicent was obviously in a bitter mood and wasn't interested. Either that, or she had also learned who to avoid over the years. Greenlee took the oppertunity to approach Andrew.  
  
"Excuse me," She said as she stepped up to the group. Andrew was standing with Greenlee's uncles Norman and Michael, and her cousins Peter, John and Mady. Peter and Mady were twins.  
  
"Hey Greens!" Mady said cheerfully, she was just barely eight-teen.  
  
"I was wondering if I could snag Andrew away for just a minute?"  
  
"Sure thing," Peter said with a nudge into Greenlee with his elbow, which he followed with a wink. Greenlee shook her head at him.  
  
Andrew reluctantly excused himself from the group and followed Greenlee to a quiet corner of the yard.  
  
"If you're going to try to--" Andrew began, but Greenlee interupted.  
  
"Yes, I am going to apologise. I'm sorry, okay? My family is really messed up."  
  
"Oh, you kissed me because of your family?" He said sarcastically. "Yeah, it all makes sense now."  
  
"Look, I need a lawyer's opinion."  
  
"I'm sure one of your cousins can help you. At least one of them had to of gone to Law School."  
  
"No, Medical School is the big thing in this family. You're the only lawyer here. Please?"  
  
How could he say no to a helpless girl?  
  
"Alright, yeah. What is it?"  
  
"Is it legal for a parent to say they'll pass everything onto their child, but only if that child is a male?"  
  
Andrew knitted his eyebrows, "That's legal. It's a form of entailment."  
  
"Isn't it sexist?"  
  
"Well, it could be, but if that's what the parent's decide and they don't give birth to a male, then they don't have to pass their things on to their daughter. They don't have to pass their things on to anyone."  
  
"What if they tell their daughter to get married, and then they'll pass everything onto her?"  
  
"That could be considered bribary I guess, but it's an incredably weak case that I doubt any sane judge would take."  
  
"Damn it!"  
  
"Is that what you're parents are doing to you?"  
  
Greenlee nodded slightly.  
  
"...and that's why you kissed me?"  
  
Another nod.  
  
"Did you're mother, sort of, force you onto me?"  
  
"Yes," Greenlee felt herself being drowned in mortification, she couldn't believe she was admitting this to him.  
  
"My mother forced me to like you too."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's why we came."  
  
Greenlee felt a sense of relief flood over herself; he had fallen for the same trick she had.  
  
"I'm so sorry that this all happened, Andrew."  
  
"It wasn't all your fault, my behavior was only a provocation."  
  
Greenlee couldn't deny that.  
  
"Well thanks for your help." Greenlee stepped away taking a deep breath and headed back inside just as everyone was beginning to enter the maze. Someone caught her arm.  
  
"Oh, Leo," She said surprised.  
  
"I saw you and Andrew talking. How'd it go?"  
  
"Not as bad as I thought."  
  
"See, what did I tell you?" Leo smiled sweetly at her.  
  
"Say, you wouldn't want to ditch the maze with me and have some cocoa, would you?" Greenlee asked.  
  
"Gee, I don't know... you think that's okay with your mother if we miss the maze?"  
  
"Oh we can sneak off into the library seperatly, no one will be the wiser."  
  
Leo laughed, "You're so guileless," he joked.  
  
Greenlee grinned, "See you in Library in ten minutes."  
  
"Roger that."  
  
"You're such a dork." She laughed, and they headed their seperate ways: Leo to the library, and Greenlee to the kitchen.  
  
As Greenlee poured the steaming water from the kettle to the mugs, she had a sudden realization. Since she'd come home for Christmas, she hadn't even thought about Him once. Not once. It was like coming home had helped to assuage her obsession for him. But as Greenlee pondered over the events that had taken place recently, she began to wonder if her ex-fiance hadn't proposed souly because she was affluent. Maybe somehow he knew about the inheiritance, but eventually felt too guilty to go through with it and ended the relationship.  
  
Greenlee shook her head at the thought, that was crazy. He couldn't have known about the money.   
  
She sighed. Being wealthy sure was a pain in the ass.  
  
"So," Leo said lifting his mug from the tray, "did you talk to your parents about the whole heir thing?"  
  
"No, but I talked to Andrew about it."  
  
"Did you really?"  
  
"Yeah, he said it was entailment."  
  
Leo blinked. "I don't know those fancy lawyer terms."  
  
"Me neither actually. Did you happen to find a dictionary in here?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, I did." He grinned. He got up from the couch and walked across the room to a shelf, he bent over and pulled a thick book from the bottom shelf. As he sat back down, he flipped through the E section.  
  
"Entailment," he read aloud, "limited inheiritance of property to specific heirs."  
  
Greenlee frowned, "When you put it that way, it sounds perfectly legal."  
  
"That's because it is, unfortunatly."  
  
"Well, shit," she muttered. "I think I'm going to take this to the top."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"My father. I'm going to have a nice, long talk about this with my old man." 


	8. Chapter 8

When Greenlee went back outside, she found a bustle of Smyth's chatting and laughing. The women were sipping white wine, and the men had some clear alcoholic drink. Greenlee shifted through the crowd, scouring for Andrew. She was able to find Amy, but Andrew wasn't with her.  
  
"Ah, there he is," she said as she finally spotted him. She walked up and tapped his shoulder, but when they were face-to-face Greenlee realized it wasn't Andrew, but his younger brother Kyle.  
  
"Yes?" He said  
  
Greenlee smiled and said, "Have you seen your brother?"  
  
"Why, yes of course." Kyle pointed towards a small group of people a short distance off, and sure enough, Andrew was standing among them holding a drink and wearing his crooked smile.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
As she walked towards the group, she was stopped suddenly by a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Hello, Greenlee."  
  
Greenlee turned. It was her Aunt Maria.   
  
"Aunt Maria, how wonderful to see you."  
  
But she was cringing on the inside. Maria was Jimmy's mother, but Jimmy and his mom were complete opposites, much like Greenlee and her own mother.  
  
Aunt Maria entered the family by marrying Greenlee's uncle David, the third Smyth son. David and Maria were the parents to three of the Smyth grandchildren. Aunt Maria, in Greenlee's honost opinion, was someone to be avoided.  
  
"Have you seen my Grandchildren running around anywhere?"  
  
"I think they might be in the maze," Greenlee guessed.  
  
"Oh, yes, you're probably right." She looked disappointed.  
  
"Well, have you seen James then?"  
  
"Nope, haven't seen James."  
  
Greenlee was getting good at this lying stuff. She kind of liked it, too.  
  
"Oh," Maria said. "How about your mother, seen her around?"  
  
"No, I could care less where she is."  
  
Maria raised both her eyebrows in surprise. Greenlee had taken her by surprise with her comment.  
  
"Oh, look," Maria said looking beyond Greenlee, "Here comes mother."  
  
Greenlee turned around; her grandmother was wheeling herself outside. Her dog, Chops, was in her lap.  
  
Maria quickly left Greenlee and went to the side of the wheelchair attempting to strike up conversation with the old woman, but Millicent was obviously in a bitter mood and wasn't interested. Either that, or she too had learned who to avoid over the years. Greenlee took the oppertunity to approach Andrew.  
  
"Excuse me," She said as she stepped up to the group. Andrew was standing with Greenlee's uncles Norman and Michael, and her cousins Peter, John and Mady. Peter and Mady were twins.  
  
"Hey Greens!" Mady said cheerfully, she was just barely eight-teen.  
  
Greenlee smile, "I was wondering if I could snag Andrew away for just a minute?"  
  
"Sure thing," Peter said with a nudge into Greenlee with his elbow, which he followed with a wink. Greenlee shook her head at him.  
  
Andrew reluctantly excused himself from the group and followed Greenlee to a quiet corner of the yard.  
  
"If you're going to try to--" Andrew began, but Greenlee interupted.  
  
"Yes, I am going to apologise. I'm sorry, okay? My family is really messed up."  
  
"Oh, you kissed me because of your family?" He said sarcastically. "Yeah, it all makes sense now."  
  
"No, that's not what I meant... You wouldn't understand."  
  
"Then why bother trying to tell me?" He turned to walk away.  
  
"Wait, please. I need a lawyer's opinion."  
  
He turned back to her, "I'm sure one of your cousins can help you. At least one of them had to of gone to Law School."  
  
"No, Medical School is the big thing in this family. You're the only lawyer here. Please?"  
  
How could he say no to a helpless girl?  
  
"Alright, yeah." He gave in. "What is it?"  
  
"Is it legal for a parent to say they'll pass everything onto their child, but only if that child is a male?"  
  
Andrew knitted his eyebrows in thought, "Sure, that's legal. It's a form of entailment."  
  
"Isn't it sexist?"  
  
"Well, it could be, but if that's what the parent's decide and they don't give birth to a male, then they don't have to pass their things on to their daughter. They don't have to pass their things on to anyone."  
  
"What if they tell their daughter to get married, and then they'll pass everything onto her?"  
  
"That could be considered bribary I guess, but it's an incredably weak case that I doubt any sane judge would take."  
  
"Damn it!"  
  
"Is that what you're parents are doing to you?"  
  
Greenlee nodded.  
  
"...and that's why you kissed me?"  
  
Another nod.  
  
"Did you're mother, sort of, force you onto me?"  
  
"Yes," Greenlee was drowned in mortification, she couldn't believe she was admitting this to him.  
  
"My mother forced me to like you too."  
  
"What?"  
  
WHAT!?!?  
  
"That's why we came."  
  
Greenlee felt a sense of relief flood over herself. He had fallen for the same trick she had!  
  
"I'm so sorry that this all happened, Andrew."   
  
"It wasn't all your fault, my behavior was only a provocation."  
  
She couldn't deny that.  
  
"Well, thanks for your help." Greenlee stepped away taking a deep breath. Wow.  
  
Just as everyone was beginning to enter the maze, and she was heading into the house, someone caught her arm.  
  
"Oh, Leo," She said surprised.  
  
"I saw you and Andrew talking. How'd it go?"  
  
"Not as bad as I thought."  
  
"See, what did I tell you?" Leo smiled sweetly at her.  
  
"Say, you wouldn't want to ditch the maze with me and have some cocoa, would you?" Greenlee asked.  
  
"Gee, I don't know... you think that's okay with your mother if we miss the maze?"  
  
"Oh we can sneak off into the library seperatly, no one will be the wiser."  
  
Leo laughed, "You're so guileless," he joked.  
  
Greenlee grinned, "See you in Library in ten minutes."  
  
"Roger that."  
  
"You're such a dork." She laughed, and they headed their seperate ways: Leo to the library, and Greenlee to the kitchen.  
  
As Greenlee poured the steaming water from the kettle to the mugs, she had a sudden realization. Since she'd met Leo, she hadn't even thought about Him once. Not once. It was like... he had helped to assuage her obsession for him. But as Greenlee pondered over the events that had taken place recently, she began to wonder if her ex-fiance hadn't proposed souly because she was affluent. Maybe somehow he knew about the inheiritance, but eventually felt too guilty to go through with it and ended the relationship.  
  
Greenlee shook her head at the thought, that was crazy. He couldn't have known about the money. She never told him about her past, about her family...  
  
She sighed. Being wealthy sure was a pain in the ass.  
  
"So," Leo said lifting his mug from the tray, "did you talk to your parents about the whole heir thing?"  
  
"No, but I talked to Andrew about it."  
  
"Did you really?"  
  
"Yeah, he said it was entailment."  
  
"When you put it that way, it sounds perfectly legal." He said.  
  
"That's because it is, unfortunatly." Greenlee paused as she sipped her cocoa.   
  
"I think I'm going to take this to the top." She said.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"My father."  
  
She stood up confidently, "I'm going to make him tell me why they're being so stubborn about it. There must be a reason." She paused, turning to face Leo. "...Right?"  
  
"Right." He smiled encouragingly.  
  
"Greenlee?" Leo stood up from the couch as she was exiting.  
  
She turned, "Yeah?"  
  
He stared at her, nervously twitching his fingers.  
  
Greenlee took a step towards him, "What is it, Leo?"  
  
"It's about the masquerade..."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Are you supposed to, you know, bring a date?"  
  
She smiled, "No, you're supposed to hook up with some mysterious, breath-taking girl who you dance with all night long, never knowing who she really is." She laughed a little, "It's kind of thrilling."  
  
Leo cleared his throat, looking straight at her. "What if you.. already have a girl in mind?"  
  
"I guess you could bring a date, then. Ruins the fun though, don't you think?"  
  
"I guess so," he said. "If someone asked you, though, would you go with them? As a date?"  
  
"I might," she shrugged. "Wouldn't stop me from dancing around. You have to dance with different people, guessing who it is behind the mask... I don't know, it's just not a masquerade if you don't."  
  
He managed a smile, "Well, good luck. With your dad, I mean."  
  
"Oh," She paused. "Thanks Leo." She flashed him a smile, and headed out. 


	9. Chapter 9

Greenlee knew her father would be turning in early; earlier then her mother at least, because tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and tomorrow night was the big Masquerade. Mary would undoubtedly be up half the night watching over the maids and such as everything was being set up. But not Roger, he'd be exhausted from the maze and want to rest as much as possible.  
  
So as soon as Greenlee was sure she could find her dad alone, she took a deep breath and knocked loudly on the master bedroom door.  
  
"Nothing more, Rose. Good night." Roger's voice called.  
  
"No, dad," Greenlee felt her hands trembling. Was it supposed to be this hard for a girl to talk to her dad?  
  
"It's me. Greenlee."  
  
There was a slight shuffle sound, immediately followed by the door swinging open. Roger was wearing his purple robe. Purple for royalty, of course.  
  
"Ah, Greenlee, come in!"  
  
Greenlee stopped shaking. He was in a good mood, which was a major relief. She stepped inside the grand master bedroom. It was quite possibly the nicest room in the entire house, though none of the guests ever saw it.  
  
Mossy hues on the walls established a soothing tone that settled Greenlee's soul. More than twenty fabrics were used for the suite's draperies, bedding, and upholstered pieces, all assorted with beautiful, soft shades of green. The furniture included a mix of custom, antique, and store-bought pieces. This room was for the most part off-limits to Greenlee as a child, but she used to sneak in all the time...  
  
"Hey daddy," She hugged him. "How's Christmas been treating you?"  
  
"Splendid." He said coolly, "This year sure has been something, hasn't it?"  
  
"You have no idea..."  
  
Greenlee hopped up on the bed.  
  
"How's your Christmas been this year, dear?" He took a seat in his chair, starting to prepare a pipe.  
  
"It's been great, the house looks wonderful as always, and everyone is so happy."  
  
"Yes. This is my favorite time of year."  
  
He lit his pipe.  
  
"Really? How come?"  
  
"Because the entire family gathers and fights are kept to a minimum. There's always fights on Easter and Thanksgiving."  
  
"Yeah, well, it's hard to keep this bunch happy sometimes."  
  
Greenlee idly smoothed out the soft fabric of the blankets on the bed with her hand.  
  
"Dad," She paused to clear her throat, "I want to talk to you about something."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's the house."  
  
"Yes, what about it?"  
  
"You know our deal?"  
  
"About the house?"  
  
"I mean, the inheritance thing." Greenlee was feeling nervous again.  
  
"Well, what about it?" He asked.  
  
"I don't know if it's really, well... fair."  
  
"Now, Greenlee, we made an agreement on this long before you were born."  
  
"That's kind of my point. You just assumed you'd be having a son, you didn't plan for a daughter."  
  
Roger fell silent. He puffed his pipe, staring off at seemingly nothing. Greenlee could tell she had upset him.  
  
"Sorry daddy. Good night." She stood up and began to leave, but he stopped her.  
  
"Greenlee, wait. There's something your mom and I never told you."  
  
Greenlee stopped. She turned around slowly.  
  
"What..?"  
  
"Have you ever wondered why you're an only child?"  
  
"Mom told me..." Greenlee's lips trembled, "She said she had trouble conceiving..."  
  
"That's right. It was supposed to be impossible for her."  
  
"Impossible?" Greenlee was nervously fidgeting with her fingers.  
  
"Yes. Your mother..." He paused and sighed, "...this is hard for me to tell you."  
  
Greenlee's heart was racing, "Was I... adopted?" She blurted out.  
  
Roger looked surprised, "Oh, no, no, Greenlee. That's not what I was getting at at all."  
  
"Then what is it?"  
  
"You had a brother."  
  
She froze.  
  
"D-did I just hear you right? I have a brother?"  
  
Roger took a deep breath before going on.  
  
"You had a brother, honey. An older brother. When your mother gave birth there were serious complications, he died and your mother barely survived. After that the doctors told us it would be impossible for her to conceive."  
  
Greenlee stood silent.  
  
"You were a miracle. Born on the greenest and brightest day of spring. What was even more of a miracle was that there were absolutely no problems during birth, and your mother had a relatively short and painless labor."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
  
"Mary didn't want you to know."  
  
"I had no idea, daddy... I'm, I'm sorry I brought it up."  
  
"No, dear, it's alright. You were right to wonder about the will."  
  
"But I still don't understand..."  
  
Roger sighed, "Your mother and I feel like we would be cheating our son if we gave what was rightfully his away for nothing."  
  
Greenlee's mouth dropped slightly, she felt like he had just slapped her across the face.  
  
"I'm just as much your child as he was, you know." She said becoming annoyed, "And anyway, he's dead. Do you think he'll really care?" Greenlee was beginning to speak out of anger.  
  
"What does me getting married have to do with any of it? Do you even realize how stupid this is?"  
  
Roger wasn't surprised by her distemper.  
  
"I didn't think you cared about the money that much."  
  
"Why wouldn't I?"  
  
"Greenlee, as soon as you were eight-teen you left. You moved to California to try and get as far away from as you could. That doesn't really show me that you have any interest in getting this house."  
  
She couldn't argue with that one.  
  
"When you get married, then I'll know that you've grown up. You wouldn't marry just anyone for the sake of just anything. I know you'll make the right decision when it comes to men, you always have. When you eventually do get married, I know you'll be ready to take on this house. But I would never imagine of giving it to you as you are now."  
  
Another slap. That could even count as two.  
  
Greenlee kissed her father's cheek goodbye, then left the room, carefully closing the door behind her.  
  
After she was back in her room, she laid in bed for many hours pondering over what she had just been told. She thought about her brother, about what he would have looked like. She thought about what her mother must have gone through after he died, and she thought about how happy it must have been when she came around.  
  
With a deep and heavy sigh, she wished more than anything that the next two days would pass by quickly. She couldn't wait to go home to Pine Valley.  
  
- Chapter 10 -  
  
Today was the day. The only day that actually made Christmas worth the trip. The day that everything was different from how it usually was. The day of the Masquerade.  
  
Greenlee knew that tonight everyone would be dressed up, and she wouldn't be able to tell her cousin Jimmy from her cousin Josh. She wouldn't be able to tell Uncle David from her Uncle Sean, her Aunt Kelly from her Aunt Maria, Andrew Crandlemire from Leo Du`pres.  
  
Woah. Wait a second.  
  
What if she really couldn't tell which was Leo, and which was Andrew? She suddenly started to panic. They were the same height and about the same build, but Leo was a bit skinner perhaps.   
  
"Oh damn, why does their hair have to be the same color?" she muttered to herself.   
  
Of course, she could probably just find out from Amy. Amy, Annie, Teresa, Jacky, Olivia and Mady had a tradition of ruining eachother's evenings by finding out who was who. Not like it was hard or anything, they just couldn't help but model off their costumes to eachother. It was very possible that one of them knew how Andrew would be dressed.   
  
Wait, did Greenlee really want to stoop to that level? Yes. Yes she did.  
  
Greenlee found two of her cousin's having a snack in the kitchen, "Hey Amy, Annie."  
  
"Hey Greenlee," Annie said. Amy didn't even turn around.  
  
"Hey, Aimes, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was clearly jealous, don't you think?"  
  
Amy whirled around on her stool; you could tell by her expression that her brain suddenly had some sort of revolutionary thought and she realized for the first time in her life that maybe, just maybe, Greenlee had been jealous of her. Of course Greenlee hadn't been really, she just said that to avoid more angry words.  
  
Amy let out a little laugh, clearly fake, "Oh Greenlee, how silly of you."  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty silly. So do you guys know what Andrew will be wearing to the Masquerade?"  
  
Amy's expression returned to it's familiar hostile state.  
  
"I don't," Annie said.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" Amy asked.  
  
"So I can avoid him." She said, which was entirely true. The guy didn't seem half bad now that she was getting to know the real him, but she still didn't want to get stuck dancing with him. She wanted to track down Leo and make sure she was dancing with him when that clock struck midnight.  
  
"I don't know what he'll be wearing."  
  
"Shouldn't you find out?"  
  
"Why, isn't the point of this so it's a surprise?" Annie said.  
  
"Yeah. You guys know about the chiming clock as well as I though."  
  
Annie and Amy both rolled their eyes simutaniously, "Oh yes, we know." they said together.  
  
"Wouldn't it suck to be dancing with, I don't know, your brother when the clock chimed?"  
  
Amy glanced at Annie. Annie glanced at Amy.  
  
Amy stuck her tongue out, "They wouldn't really make me kiss Josh, would they?"  
  
Annie shook her head quickly, "No way."  
  
The "chiming clock" was a tradition that the family had amused itself with for generations. The Masquerade dancing lasts until midnight and when the clock gongs it's last on the twelth hour, everyone stops dancing. The music is stopped, and a frightfully unusual silence hovers for about ten seconds. At this time, the person you are dancing with removes your mask (male always removes female first, followed by the female removing the males) and then they give eachother a kiss as a sign of love, respect, or just appreciation. Greenlee always thought it was stupid, and she wondered how year after year the amusing situation of a brother and sister accidently dancing together had not yet happened. She almost laughed out loud at the thought of Josh and Amy as they removed eachother's masks...  
  
"That's never happened before," Annie said interupting Greenlee's thoughts, "so there's no reason for it to happen now."  
  
Amy nodded in agreement, trying to console herself more than anyone else, then she said, "I'll make a deal with you, Greens."  
  
Greenlee's ears perked, "What kind of deal?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"You found out what Andrew will be dressed as, and I'll find out what - what's his name? Luke?"  
  
"Leo?"  
  
"Yes, I'll find out what Leo is dressing as."  
  
"Why would I want to know what Leo is dressing as?"  
  
A small smile crept across Greenlee's lips as she watched Amy's face fill with frustration.  
  
"Because you like him. Duh!"  
  
"Yeah, Greenlee, you guys are always sneaking off into the library together." Annie added.  
  
Greenlee rolled her eyes; she should of figured her cousins would notice something like that and take it completely the wrong way.  
  
"Leo's a good friend."  
  
"Friend? Right. Listen, when you're ready to admit your feelings for this guy and you desperatly want to know who he is at the dance, then you come find me, okay?" Amy got up off her stool and strolled casually out of the kitchen, feeling proud of herself by thinking she had proved some sort of big point. Just as she left, Jacky and Olivia came bouncing in, holding their dresses safely protected under black trash bags.  
  
"Annie, come look at my dress! It's absolutly gorgeous!" Olivia shrieked.  
  
Greenlee took that oppertunity to slip out of the kitchen, suddenly realizing that she didn't have a dress. It wouldn't be hard to find one, it was just the pain of having to drive all the way out to the city for a stupid dress. Oh, who was she kidding? She couldn't wait to pick out a fabulous costume that would blow Leo's socks off!  
  
Greenlee was hurrying up the stairs that connected the second and third floors. When she reached the top, she could hear laughing in the first bedroom to the right. It was loud, and it was clearly Jimmy's. She shook her head, wondering what Josh and Jim were up to now. Then she came to an abrupt halt when she heard what she swore was Leo's laugh mixed in as well. She took a couple steps back and put her ear up to the door. She could hear muffled voices.  
  
"....if she misses this, then she's blind...."  
  
"...are you guys sure about this..."  
  
"...she'll get it, Greens is a smart girl..."  
  
"What!?" Greenlee said aloud. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Josh's voice said in a whisper.  
  
Greenlee wasted no time in bolting down the hall and dashing quickly into her room. She immediatly picked up the phone that was sitting on her night stand. She pushed the # key and patiently waited as it rung.  
  
"Extension number?" An electronic voice answered.  
  
Greenlee pushed the five.  
  
"Thank you. Please hold."  
  
Within seconds, Charlie's voice came across the phone.  
  
"This is Charlie." He said.  
  
"Charlie," Greenlee smiled, "how are you?"  
  
"Miss Greenlee, what can I do for you?"  
  
"I need to go into town this afternoon to pick up a dress, think you can help me out?"  
  
"That's my job, isn't it?"  
  
"You know I hate to feel like I'm using you."  
  
"And you, Greenlee, know that I would willingly help you with anything."  
  
"Then I'll see you outside in ten minutes?"  
  
"Certaintly. I'll bring the car around immediatly."  
  
"Thanks Charlie."  
  
Greenlee grabbed her purse and walked down the hall again. The boys were still shut up in their room, which was really starting to get on her nerves, but she continued on down the stairs, all three flights, and then rushed out the door. She didn't want anyone to know where she was going because, unlike her cousins, Greenlee liked keeping everything a surprise.  
  
When she got to the ritzy New York store, the greeters happily welcomed her. They quickly yelled into their head pieces, "One of the Smyth girls is here, assistance immediatly please! Immediatly!"  
  
Within seconds, a "fitter" (as they are called) was at Greenlee's side.  
  
"Oh look at your figure, you little doll, you! Short, yes.. hm, but your hair is just gorgeous, and those eyes, oh nice hips, nice hips," The woman seemed to be muttering to herself as she ran circles around Greenlee, "Yes, yes, I have the perfect dress for you."  
  
The woman rushed off and a different woman guided Greenlee to the fitting room, where she was met up once again with the first woman, who had a very festive autumn dress.  
  
"It's brown." Greenlee said.  
  
"Isn't it beautiful? With the yellows and red and oranges. It's the perfect fall dress, and it matches your eyes and hair perfectly."  
  
Greenlee cleared her throat as she pushed the dress away, "It's not fall, it's winter."  
  
The woman stared, blinking for a moment; then said, "Winter! Ah, yes!" And she promptly rushed away again.  
  
Seconds later she was back with a white dress frosted in blue sparkles with several frills and edgy angles.  
  
"This is one of our more unique pieces," the woman began, but Greenlee quickly interupted, "It's too candyland for my taste."  
  
"Did you say Candyland?" The fitter stared dumbly at her, "As in, the children's board game?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, Queen Frostine. That dress is way too Queen Frostine."  
  
The woman repeated her staring and blinking reaction from before, then once again rushed away. Greenlee sighed. She took the oppertunity to wander out of the dressing room and onto the main floor of the department store. An aid rushed up, "Can I help you?" She asked.  
  
"No," Greenlee said. "I want to look for myself."  
  
  
  
As she looked through the racks of dresses, she wondered why nothing was catching her eye. They were all very nice. She took an angelic looking dress from the rack, considered it for a moment, but then decided that it was too predictable and put it back. She'd gone as an angel at least four times in the past.  
  
Then she found a dazzling tiger-themed dress, but again, something about it didn't sit well with her.  
  
Greenlee whirled around when she felt a tap on her shoulder. The fitter was standing there with a dress underneath a plastic cover.  
  
"I think I've got it now," She grinned happily. She pulled the plastic cover off and Greenlee was awestruck as she stared at the most radiant and ravishing dress she'd ever seen.  
  
It was a princess dress, fit for an empress. It reminded her of the dress she wore when she was thirteen, when Josh was her date, except it was much more sightly.  
  
"I'll take it." She said quickly.  
  
"I knew you'd love it!" The fitter said excitedly, then rushed off to ring it up at the cash register. The total was a mind blowing $4,320; but Greenlee simply charged it to her father's credit card. He offered, after all... 


	10. Chapter 10

Today was the day. The only day that actually made Christmas worth the trip. The day that everything was different from how it usually was. The day of the Masquerade.  
  
Greenlee knew that tonight everyone would be dressed up, and she wouldn't be able to tell her cousin Jimmy from her cousin Josh. She wouldn't be able to tell Uncle David from her Uncle Sean, her Aunt Kelly from her Aunt Maria, Andrew Crandlemire from Leo Du`pres.  
  
Woah. Wait a second.  
  
What if she really couldn't tell which was Leo, and which was Andrew? She suddenly started to panic. They were the same height and about the same build, but Leo was a bit skinner perhaps.   
  
"Oh damn, why does their hair have to be the same color?" she muttered to herself.   
  
Of course, she could probably just find out from Amy. Amy, Annie, Teresa, Jacky, Olivia and Mady had a tradition of ruining eachother's evenings by finding out who was who. Not like it was hard or anything, they just couldn't help but model off their costumes to eachother. It was very possible that one of them knew how Andrew would be dressed.   
  
Wait, did Greenlee really want to stoop to that level? Yes. Yes she did.  
  
Greenlee found two of her cousin's having a snack in the kitchen, "Hey Amy, Annie."  
  
"Hey Greenlee," Annie said. Amy didn't even turn around.  
  
"Hey, Aimes, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was clearly jealous, don't you think?"  
  
Amy whirled around on her stool; you could tell by her expression that her brain suddenly had some sort of revolutionary thought and she realized for the first time in her life that maybe, just maybe, Greenlee had been jealous of her. Of course Greenlee hadn't been really, she just said that to avoid more angry words.  
  
Amy let out a little laugh, clearly fake, "Oh Greenlee, how silly of you."  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty silly. So do you guys know what Andrew will be wearing to the Masquerade?"  
  
Amy's expression returned to it's familiar hostile state.  
  
"I don't," Annie said.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" Amy asked.  
  
"So I can avoid him." She said, which was entirely true. The guy didn't seem half bad now that she was getting to know the real him, but she still didn't want to get stuck dancing with him. She wanted to track down Leo and make sure she was dancing with him when that clock struck midnight.  
  
"I don't know what he'll be wearing."  
  
"Shouldn't you find out?"  
  
"Why, isn't the point of this so it's a surprise?" Annie said.  
  
"Yeah. You guys know about the chiming clock as well as I though."  
  
Annie and Amy both rolled their eyes simutaniously, "Oh yes, we know." they said together.  
  
"Wouldn't it suck to be dancing with, I don't know, your brother when the clock chimed?"  
  
Amy glanced at Annie. Annie glanced at Amy.  
  
Amy stuck her tongue out, "They wouldn't really make me kiss Josh, would they?"  
  
Annie shook her head quickly, "No way."  
  
The "chiming clock" was a tradition that the family had amused itself with for generations. The Masquerade dancing lasts until midnight and when the clock gongs it's last on the twelth hour, everyone stops dancing. The music is stopped, and a frightfully unusual silence hovers for about ten seconds. At this time, the person you are dancing with removes your mask (male always removes female first, followed by the female removing the males) and then they give eachother a kiss as a sign of love, respect, or just appreciation. Greenlee always thought it was stupid, and she wondered how year after year the amusing situation of a brother and sister accidently dancing together had not yet happened. She almost laughed out loud at the thought of Josh and Amy as they removed eachother's masks...  
  
"That's never happened before," Annie said interupting Greenlee's thoughts, "so there's no reason for it to happen now."  
  
Amy nodded in agreement, trying to console herself more than anyone else, then she said, "I'll make a deal with you, Greens."  
  
Greenlee's ears perked, "What kind of deal?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"You found out what Andrew will be dressed as, and I'll find out what - what's his name? Luke?"  
  
"Leo?"  
  
"Yes, I'll find out what Leo is dressing as."  
  
"Why would I want to know what Leo is dressing as?"  
  
A small smile crept across Greenlee's lips as she watched Amy's face fill with frustration.  
  
"Because you like him. Duh!"  
  
"Yeah, Greenlee, you guys are always sneaking off into the library together." Annie added.  
  
Greenlee rolled her eyes; she should of figured her cousins would notice something like that and take it completely the wrong way.  
  
"Leo's a good friend."  
  
"Friend? Right. Listen, when you're ready to admit your feelings for this guy and you desperatly want to know who he is at the dance, then you come find me, okay?" Amy got up off her stool and strolled casually out of the kitchen, feeling proud of herself by thinking she had proved some sort of big point. Just as she left, Jacky and Olivia came bouncing in, holding their dresses safely protected under black trash bags.  
  
"Annie, come look at my dress! It's absolutly gorgeous!" Olivia shrieked.  
  
Greenlee took that oppertunity to slip out of the kitchen, suddenly realizing that she didn't have a dress. It wouldn't be hard to find one, it was just the pain of having to drive all the way out to the city for a stupid dress. Oh, who was she kidding? She couldn't wait to pick out a fabulous costume that would blow Leo's socks off!  
  
Greenlee was hurrying up the stairs that connected the second and third floors. When she reached the top, she could hear laughing in the first bedroom to the right. It was loud, and it was clearly Jimmy's. She shook her head, wondering what Josh and Jim were up to now. Then she came to an abrupt halt when she heard what she swore was Leo's laugh mixed in as well. She took a couple steps back and put her ear up to the door. She could hear muffled voices.  
  
"....if she misses this, then she's blind...."  
  
"...are you guys sure about this..."  
  
"...she'll get it, Greens is a smart girl..."  
  
"What!?" Greenlee said aloud. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Josh's voice said in a whisper.  
  
Greenlee wasted no time in bolting down the hall and dashing quickly into her room. She immediatly picked up the phone that was sitting on her night stand. She pushed the # key and patiently waited as it rung.  
  
"Extension number?" An electronic voice answered.  
  
Greenlee pushed the five.  
  
"Thank you. Please hold."  
  
Within seconds, Charlie's voice came across the phone.  
  
"This is Charlie." He said.  
  
"Charlie," Greenlee smiled, "how are you?"  
  
"Miss Greenlee, what can I do for you?"  
  
"I need to go into town this afternoon to pick up a dress, think you can help me out?"  
  
"That's my job, isn't it?"  
  
"You know I hate to feel like I'm using you."  
  
"And you, Greenlee, know that I would willingly help you with anything."  
  
"Then I'll see you outside in ten minutes?"  
  
"Certaintly. I'll bring the car around immediatly."  
  
"Thanks Charlie."  
  
Greenlee grabbed her purse and walked down the hall again. The boys were still shut up in their room, which was really starting to get on her nerves, but she continued on down the stairs, all three flights, and then rushed out the door. She didn't want anyone to know where she was going because, unlike her cousins, Greenlee liked keeping everything a surprise.  
  
When she got to the ritzy New York store, the greeters happily welcomed her. They quickly yelled into their head pieces, "One of the Smyth girls is here, assistance immediatly please! Immediatly!"  
  
Within seconds, a "fitter" (as they are called) was at Greenlee's side.  
  
"Oh look at your figure, you little doll, you! Short, yes.. hm, but your hair is just gorgeous, and those eyes, oh nice hips, nice hips," The woman seemed to be muttering to herself as she ran circles around Greenlee, "Yes, yes, I have the perfect dress for you."  
  
The woman rushed off and a different woman guided Greenlee to the fitting room, where she was met up once again with the first woman, who had a very festive autumn dress.  
  
"It's brown." Greenlee said.  
  
"Isn't it beautiful? With the yellows and red and oranges. It's the perfect fall dress, and it matches your eyes and hair perfectly."  
  
Greenlee cleared her throat as she pushed the dress away, "It's not fall, it's winter."  
  
The woman stared, blinking for a moment; then said, "Winter! Ah, yes!" And she promptly rushed away again.  
  
Seconds later she was back with a white dress frosted in blue sparkles with several frills and edgy angles.  
  
"This is one of our more unique pieces," the woman began, but Greenlee quickly interupted, "It's too candyland for my taste."  
  
"Did you say Candyland?" The fitter stared dumbly at her, "As in, the children's board game?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, Queen Frostine. That dress is way too Queen Frostine."  
  
The woman repeated her staring and blinking reaction from before, then once again rushed away. Greenlee sighed. She took the oppertunity to wander out of the dressing room and onto the main floor of the department store. An aid rushed up, "Can I help you?" She asked.  
  
"No," Greenlee said. "I want to look for myself."  
  
  
  
As she looked through the racks of dresses, she wondered why nothing was catching her eye. They were all very nice. She took an angelic looking dress from the rack, considered it for a moment, but then decided that it was too predictable and put it back. She'd gone as an angel at least four times in the past.  
  
Then she found a dazzling tiger-themed dress, but again, something about it didn't sit well with her.  
  
Greenlee whirled around when she felt a tap on her shoulder. The fitter was standing there with a dress underneath a plastic cover.  
  
"I think I've got it now," She grinned happily. She pulled the plastic cover off and Greenlee was awestruck as she stared at the most radiant and ravishing dress she'd ever seen.  
  
It was a princess dress, fit for an empress. It reminded her of the dress she wore when she was thirteen, when Josh was her date, except it was much more sightly.  
  
"I'll take it." She said quickly.  
  
"I knew you'd love it!" The fitter said excitedly, then rushed off to ring it up at the cash register. The total was a mind blowing $4,320; but Greenlee simply charged it to her father's credit card. He offered, after all... 


	11. Chapter 11

Greenlee stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe how unbelievably good she looked in the dress. After twirling around a bit, looking at herself from all angles, she picked up the mask and secured it onto her face.  
  
  
  
Excitement bubbled in her stomach as she walked down the stairs into the masquerade. She paused at the top of the stairs, looking out over the dance. It was certainty a sight to behold. The room had a mesmeric quality. Greenlee couldn't do much else but stare out at it.  
  
It was, in the truest sense, like a scene from a fairy tale. Hundreds of bright, colorful costumes were whirling, swaying and sweeping across the spacious floor. The windows, which reached nearly up to the ceiling, let in the glow of the moon, which was accompanied by glistening lights strung around the room.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me, my fair lady." A voice from behind her said. She turned around to find a fat pumpkin. It was all she could do but laugh out loud.  
  
"What's so funny?" The pumpkin asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing," She said, giving a polite curtsy, and then moving aside for him to get by. But he didn't budge.  
  
"I know I'm a mere vegetable in the sight of such a beautiful maiden, but we are standing below a mistletoe..."  
  
Greenlee cocked her head upwards. Indeed, there was mistletoe hanging directly above where they were standing.  
  
She smiled and leaned in, kissing what she hoped was the cheek of the pumpkin. He thanked her, then proceeded to waddle out onto the dance floor.  
  
Greenlee followed quickly, not wanting to stand beneath the mistletoe any longer, and hurried over to the punch bowl. As beautiful as everything was, the room was extremely warm, especially when you had on as heavy a dress as hers.  
  
She dipped the spoon into the bowl and filled her cup. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with a Swan.  
  
"Greenlee? Greenlee is that you?" The swan said urgently.  
  
Greenlee shook her head.  
  
"Are you sure?" The swan flapped one of it's wings.  
  
Again, Greenlee shook her head, then she slipped away into the crowd. But then she stopped suddenly. She realized that she and Amy had never swapped costume information concerning Andrew and Leo. She had found out, rather easily, that Andrew was going as a Wizard, but neglected to inform Amy. What if that Swan had been Amy? Damn!  
  
Greenlee turned around quickly and bolted back to the refreshment table, but the swan had disappeared. Greenlee began to panic. She could avoid Andrew, oh sure, but that didn't matter much if she wasn't able to find LEO!  
  
She ran back into the crowd, frantically searching for the Swan, but her efforts resulted in no luck. She did, however, bump into a Penguin, who asked her very sweetly if she'd like to dance. She graciously accepted.  
  
They danced briefly before a Polar Bear approached them. Greenlee, thinking the sight of a Polar Bear and a Penguin dancing was just too cute to pass up, happily allowed the bear to cut in.  
  
She went directly back to the refreshment table where she got another glass of punch. She sipped it, slowly, and stared out into the crowd of dancers. Unexpectedly, the swan went zooming by, dragging a large Banana behind her. Greenlee nearly spewed her punch as she set her cup onto the table and raced after the giant yellow costume that was disappearing quickly into the crowd of dancers.  
  
She grabbed the Banana, giving him a hard tug. The swan and Banana both turned around quickly.  
  
"Amy, is that you?" Greenlee whispered.  
  
"No," The swan said, out of breath. "Greenlee?"  
  
"Who are you?" Greenlee asked.  
  
"Susie," The swan quacked.  
  
"Oh, Susie!"  
  
Greenlee turned to the banana, eyeing it up and down.  
  
"Please, Jimmy, tell me that isn't you..."  
  
"Okay." The banana said. "I won't."  
  
Greenlee nearly barreled over laughing.  
  
"Oh, my God, a BANANA? What the HELL were you thinking? This is a MASQUERADE, not a Halloween Party!"  
  
She broke off into more laughter.  
  
"Listen, Miss Giggles, have you seen two little apples wandering around?"  
  
"Alex and Becky?"  
  
The swan nodded, her beak flapping furiously.  
  
"No, I haven't," Greenlee said looking around her a bit. "If I do, I'll bring them to you, okay?"  
  
"Thanks, Princess..."  
  
The bird and fruit then ran off, vanishing into the dancers again.  
  
Greenlee turned around, keeping her eyes on the look out for apples.  
  
And that's when she saw him.  
  
A lion, dancing with a Panda.  
  
A Lion.  
  
LEO THE LION.  
  
Greenlee put her punch down and bolted out towards them. She eagerly tapped the Panda on the shoulder, who stepped back, allowing Greenlee to cut in. The lion bowed politely, a clever grin playing across his painted mouth.  
  
"My, my, I never realized Lion's were such good dancers." Greenlee smiled as he twirled her. But to her surpris, he twirled her right into the arms of a giant cigarette. Alarmed, she turned her head and watched as the lion waved his paw at her, then darted into the crowd.  
  
Greenlee looked up at the cigarette, her new dance partner, and was more than a little relieved when the song ended. She tore her hands away from him and retreated, once again, back to the punch bowl.  
  
A butterfly, dragonfly, someone dressed as Alice in Wonderland, and someone dressed as The Queen of Hearts slinked up beside her simultaneously, two on each side. Greenlee could instantly tell that Alice was Teresa. There was just no mistaking that blonde hair. And the Queen, she guessed, was most likely Annie, because, although Amy had dark hair as well, the Queen was just too pudgy to be Amy. Amy, she guessed, was the dragonfly, and Olivia the butterfly.  
  
Just as Greenlee suspected, the dragonfly whispered in her ear, "What the freaking hell is Andrew dressed as?"  
  
Greenlee cleared her throat; "Whatever are you talking about, Madam Dragonfly?"  
  
"We know it's you, Greenlee, drop the act!" Annie said.  
  
"Greenlee? That Smyth girl? Heaven's no, my dears!"  
  
"GREENLEEEE!"  
  
"Okay, okay!" Greenlee was pouring herself some more punch; "He's a wizard."  
  
"Which one?" Olivia quickly asked. "I've danced with two wizards tonight, already."  
  
"One's in purple robes, and the other in blue." Teresa informed Greenlee.  
  
Greenlee considered this for a moment. She wanted to say purple, but then she realized that was her father. He, for some reason, had a strange fetish for those Harry Potter books... the wizard, Greenlee remembered, wore purple in the movie. Andrew must be the blue one.  
  
"Blue." She said quickly.  
  
"Thanks, Greens," Amy sounded genuinely appreciative. "Leo's the..."  
  
"I know," Greenlee grinned. "I found him on my own."  
  
"Oh, well alright."  
  
  
  
A new song started up, so the girls split, instantly hopping out onto the dance floor. Amy quickly went in search for the wizard in blue. Greenlee, meanwhile, was scouring for the lion.  
  
The song ended, and still, there was no sign of Leo the Lion. As the next song started up, Greenlee was asked by a handsome prince to dance. She accepted, and a few people actually stopped to watch them. A handsome prince and beautiful princess waltzing certainly draws a crowd, Greenlee thought. As they spun, Greenlee's eyes fell upon the lion. He was standing beside a red Fish in the crowd. She watched him intently, as he, too, watched her. He had that grin on his lips still, and Greenlee eagerly tried to break away from the prince, but the prince would have no such thing. The lion began to step backwards, withdrawing into the crowd. Greenlee stopped the dance immediately, just before the lion vanished for good, and darted after him. She couldn't let him get away again!  
  
The prince looked quite offended, but Greenlee didn't care about that. The thing about masquerades is that they're anonymous. Nobody could call it on her later. And anyway, a simply ravishing Angel stepped in her place, and the prince was waltzing again in no time.  
  
The lion weeded his way through the people, leading Greenlee towards the back of the room. He was always just out of her reach, but glanced back often with that sly grin, making sure she was still there.  
  
What is he doing! Greenlee thought to herself, This is SO Leo...  
  
Greenlee stretch her arm out and grabbed a hold of the end of his tail. He stopped and turned, taking her dainty hand into his bulky paw, then continued to lead her. Finally, they reached the back of the room, away from the dancing populous, and the lion swept her in front of him up against the wall. He grinned, again, and pushed her mask up a little, then leaned in and kissed her. Greenlee thought this was a simple kiss, but as she felt his tongue press against her lips, she realized he was looking for a full on make out session.  
  
How was Leo SO sure that this princess is me, anyway? She thought. How am I so sure this Lion is Leo...?  
  
She pulled away, breaking the kiss.  
  
"Leo?"  
  
"Leo the Lion." The lion grinned, in a voice that was clearly not Leo's.  
  
"No... You're not Leo!" She pushed him back. "Who do you think you are, kissing me like that?"  
  
"You were attracted to me, weren't you?" The lion said.  
  
"Because I thought you were Leo! Leo Du`Pres!"  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you. I'm Kyle Crandlemire. Who are you, anyway?"  
  
  
  
KYLE CRANDLEMIRE?  
  
Greenlee's cheeks flushed beet red and she darted away, slipping into the crowd of dancers.  
  
As Greenlee rushed back towards the stairs, Susie caught her arm. The swan now had two plump apples beneath her wings. One green, one red.  
  
"I found the kids."  
  
"Oh, good, I'm glad," Greenlee said. Her voice was obviously choked up, though.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"No! My God, who's idea was it to have this stupid Masquerade? NEVER AGAIN! I'm never coming home for Christmas again!"  
  
"Greenlee," The swan pulled her in for a hug. "What happened, sweetie?"  
  
"I... I can't talk about it. Maybe tomorrow."  
  
"It'll probably seem funny to you tomorrow."  
  
"OH, GOD!" Greenlee spotted Kyle at the refreshment table. "Funny? Yeah, right." She immediately darted up the stairs, but bumped head on into a Frog.  
  
"Ex..excuse me.." Greenlee said, as he pulled her up to her feet.  
  
"Don't worry about it," the frog said. Greenlee stared at the mask closely. It was... It was Josh! That was the same costume he wore when they were thirteen. She smiled, wondering if he'd recognize her.  
  
"Shall we dance?" She asked.  
  
"You have to kiss me, first." He said.  
  
"That's your reward if you can hold onto me until midnight..."  
  
"No, that's my reward for catching you beneath a mistletoe." The frog grinned. Greenlee glanced up. Damn that blasted Christmas weed!  
  
"Alright, if you insist..." She leaned up and kissed the frog's cheek, then they retreated together onto the dance floor.  
  
Dancing with Josh made her feel better. Kyle was no where in sight, the handsome prince and his angel partner were dancing beside them, and everything felt calm. Greenlee almost didn't care about the whole mistaking-kyle-for-leo thing. At least she didn't french him, she thought with a smile. Greenlee noticed that not too far away, Amy was two-stepping with the blue wizard. Surprisingly, she felt happy for her cousin.  
  
Then, to Greenlee's complete and utter shock, Amy did something Greenlee wished her dead for. She and her blue wizard danced right up close, "Greenlee," Amy shouted over the music. "Can we switch real quick?"  
  
Amy, Greenlee guessed, knew that the frog was her brother and must have had something important to tell him. Greenlee nodded, and they switched partners. Greenlee laughed while she watched the dragonfly and frog dance. She half expected the Frog to gobble down the fly.  
  
"So, you're Greenlee?" The wizard said.  
  
"Yeah. Andrew, right?"  
  
"No," the wizard said. "It's John."  
  
"JOHN?" Greenlee's jaw dropped. "Does Amy know this?"  
  
"Yeah, as soon as I told her she switched out."  
  
"I thought you were Andrew!"  
  
"Listen, Greenlee, I have to go help Ursula with the kids now. Merry Christmas, see you tomorrow morning." And he broke away.  
  
Greenlee looked to where she had left the frog and fly, but they were gone.  
  
"Such a beautiful thing, standing here all alone with no dance partner?"  
  
The purple wizard was standing in front of her now.  
  
"Oh, dad." She sighed, collecting his hands into hers and dancing with him. "I'm not having a good night at all!"  
  
"I think it's about to get worse." The purple wizard shouted. The music had reached a dramatic peak, and thus was much louder.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Greenlee shouted back.  
  
"Because I'm not your father!"  
  
Greenlee dropped his hands and discontinued the dance.  
  
She tried hard to look into the eyes behind the mask. "Andrew? That you?"  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"Andrew, I found you! Come on, we have to go find Amy!"  
  
"Amy? I'd love to dance with Amy." He smiled, "But can we talk first?"  
  
They started up the dance again.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"I just wanted to say sorry. For provoking you, I mean."  
  
"I'm the one who should say sorry. I had no right to come on to you like that." Greenlee admitted.  
  
"It's fine, as long as we're cool."  
  
Greenlee smiled, "Yeah, we're cool."  
  
Madam Dragonfly and the Frog came promenading by, and Greenlee quickly switched partner's with her again. Amy was most confused, but as Greenlee watched them closely, she saw Andrew whisper something into Amy's ear, and then Amy's eyes beamed as a grin swept across her face and she threw her arms around him. Okay, so they both knew who each other was, which completely eliminated any chance of there being a surprise when they take of each other's masks. But at least they were both happy. 


	12. Chapter 12

After dancing through several songs with the Frog, Greenlee was relieved that a slow song started to play. Her shoes were stabbing into her feet like razors and she'd pretty much lost all feeling in her toes. Not only that, but she'd been up half the night before, thinking about all that stuff her dad had told her. She swayed peacefully with the Frog, resting her head sleepily on his shoulder. She thought about her brother... she wished so badly that he could have survived. Knowing about him now made her feel a certain sort of emptiness inside. She also, for the first time in her entire twenty-three years of life, actually felt sorry for her mother. Greenlee began wondering if there was something that she could do for her... it was Christmas, after all. It sunk into her mind, then, that she didn't even get her mom a Christmas present.  
  
Maybe her mom had been a bit nasty over the course of Greenlee's life, but now Greenlee understood why. It was no excuse, really, but at least Greenlee knew that it wasn't because Mary hated her. It was because she was destroyed inside. It had been clear to Greenlee for years that her parent's marriage was failing, and as if that wasn't enough, but Mary had a dead son and her only daughter - her only child, for the rest of her life - was in no way affectionate towards her, and in fact, went well out of her way to make her life miserable. Because Greenlee did. She hated her mother so much that she went against everything she said. Real mature, Greenlee sighed. As she did, her dancing frog gave her hand a squeeze.  
  
Greenlee lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up into his froggy face.  
  
"You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" He said.  
  
"Of course not," She smiled. "Just thinking, that's all."  
  
Greenlee casually looked up at the clock. She was surprised to find that it was already 11:30. She couldn't help but sigh again. At this point, there was no hope in finding Leo. She may as well go to bed, she figured, because Josh would be breaking away to dance with his girlfriend soon anyway.  
  
"Thanks for dancing with me, Josh," She stopped the dance and took a step back. "You can go find Angela now."  
  
"Greenlee, you're not leaving the dance, are you?" The frog asked.  
  
"Of course not." The princess replied.  
  
He laughed, "Did you know your voice gets high pitched when you lie?"  
  
Greenlee couldn't help but smile, "Luckily that's something only you would notice."  
  
She leaned up, kissed his cheek again, and turned to go.  
  
He stopped her.  
  
"Dance with me, please?"  
  
Greenlee knitted her eyebrows in confusion. The way which he said those 4 simple words... there was such a sense of pleading in his voice, of anxiousness. Greenlee thought it would have been very romantic, if it hadn't been her cousin who whispered the words in such an intimate way.  
  
"Okay..." She said slowly. "If that's what you really want."  
  
Her hands clasped together with his and they swayed, once again, gently across the floor.  
  
Greenlee began to consider that maybe the frog wasn't Josh afterall. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the Handsome Princess was Josh. The angel was, of course, Angela. There was no mistaking it now.  
  
So, who was she dancing with?  
  
Leo?  
  
HAH! She quickly shrugged that thought away. As if Fate would actually decide to be nice to her.   
  
"Oh, Greenlee, I know I've been quite awful towards you in the past, throwing you some tricky curve balls, but I decided to give you a break. Merry Christmas." - Fate.  
  
Yeah, right. Greenlee laughed at herself under her breath.  
  
Another slow song played next. It was something light and sweet, but at the same time it was heavily dramatic. A simple piano accompanied by a violin.   
  
Greenlee's mysterious frog partner pulled her up close for the dance. She put her arms on his shoulder and rested her head beneath his chin.  
  
She felt secure with him, this myserious frog. He held her so tenderly that she couldn't feel help but feel safe in his arms.  
  
As far as she was concerned, it was only him and her and the peaceful melody of the piano... floating gracefully, silently across the room.  
  
And the shimmering lights carefully strung around the room? To Greenlee, they were twinkling stars spread across the night time sky.  
  
"Greenlee..."  
  
She opened her eyes, but didn't lift her head.  
  
"Greenlee, you know what?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You make the most delicious cocoa..."  
  
A jolt.  
  
A tingling sensation.  
  
It started in Greenlee's stomach, then burst out in every direction.  
  
A sting in her feet.  
  
A throb in her chest.  
  
A skipped breath in her lungs.  
  
  
  
She lifted her head.  
  
"Leo..?"  
  
"Since that first day, Greenlee, when I walked in on you and Andrew... I tasted that cocoa, and ever since, from time to time, I've craved it. It's that good, Greens."  
  
"Leo," she gasped. "I hoped it was you. I hoped so badly."  
  
They held each other tightly, like Cinderella and Prince Charming.  
  
"I've never met anyone like you before, Greenlee."  
  
They twirled, like Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip, across the ballroom floor.  
  
He pressed his forehead against hers; their eyes unmoving from their magnectic-like attraction to each other.  
  
"I know we just met, but Greenlee, you're so amazing. So... beautiful."  
  
"Oh, Leo."  
  
She tingled again.  
  
Her hands shook from nervousness.  
  
"How...how did you know it was me?"  
  
"When you bumped into me on the staircase," he smiled. "When I caught you. It was my girl. My Greenlee."  
  
-His- Greenlee. She liked the sound of that. -My- Leo had a nice ring to it, too.  
  
She elevated herself on her tippytoes brushing her lips across his. He intercepted the attempted kiss by slipping his finger between them.  
  
"Not 'til midnight." He grinned.  
  
11:59. One minute.  
  
But one minute seemed too long.  
  
"Greenlee?"  
  
"Yes, Leo?"  
  
"I want you by my side. Always."  
  
A grin played across her lips, "I think I can manage that."  
  
"Now that you're here with me, now that I have you in my arms... I don't want you to ever leave."  
  
"I.. I don't want to leave, Leo."  
  
"You are so beautiful in that dress, Greenlee... but to me, you're just as beautiful flopped on the couch in your pajamas, makeup off, sipping cocoa. That's the Greenlee that I... that I've managed to fall in love with."  
  
The clock chimed. One.  
  
"Greenlee, I love you."  
  
Two.  
  
They stopped dancing. Greenlee was gazing into his eyes.  
  
Three.  
  
The entire room hushed. Excitment bubbling all around.  
  
Four.  
  
"I love you so much, Greenlee."  
  
Five.  
  
"Leo... I love you, too."  
  
Six.  
  
"How could I resist such a free spirit?"  
  
Seven.  
  
"...Pulling down those books..." She grinned.  
  
Eight.  
  
"At the risk of sounding corny... you complete me, Greens."  
  
Nine.  
  
"I never felt such peace as I do just from being in the same room with you."  
  
Ten.  
  
"No Christmas present could ever measure up to just being able to spend time with you."  
  
Eleven.  
  
"Greenlee Smyth, I love you."  
  
Twelve.  
  
Leo gently removed the mask from her face. Her eyes were filling with tears. With a happy sort of smile, she pulled his mask off. As she stared up into his eyes, the mask dropped from her hand. He leaned down, smiling as they lips touched.  
  
They kissed. 


End file.
